Shadow of the Day
by The Night Lord
Summary: Angel and Cordelia now own Wolfram and Hart. While in control, they must deal with evil clients, Spike, a wedding, Spike, pure demons, Spike, prophecies and oh yeah, definitely Spike. Fifth in the Poster Girl series. Please R
1. Our New Job

**Yep, here it is, the fifth part in the Poster Girl series. I hope you all enjoy it**

††††††††††

A scream in the night. The silent avenger followed the call, swooping down from the rooftops like an avenging angel, catching the villain in the jaw with a kick, then performed a small flip, landing on his feet and whirling around

"I don't think the girl's interested," Angel said coolly

The vampire growled and got to his feet, swinging his fist, but Angel blocked and punched, followed by a second punch, blocking and elbowing, then flipping the vampire onto his back. The vampire snarled, kicking at Angel, before rolling forward and doing another kick, only to get thrown on his back again, as Angel drew a stake from his coat and plunged it into the vampire's heart. As the dust settled, the girl watched as Angel started to leave the alley

"Who are you?" she asked

"Doesn't matter," he replied

Just then, several cars pulled up, as numerous people in suits got out and started milling about, some taking photos, others talking on their phones, as one such man stopped before Angel and held out his hand

"Jackson Hodge. So good to finally meet you, boss"

"You guys been following me?" Angel asked, "How?"

"Tracking device in your coat. But never mind that. Anything I can get you? Cup of coffee? Blood? By the way, the vampire you killed was a client, but hey, first day on the job, who's gonna notice?"

"You did this for publicity?" the girl asked as she was asked to sign a contract

"No! This is what I do, I help people," Angel said, "Oh God!"

††††††††††

"Think fast!"

Wesley groaned when he managed to catch the basketball one-handed, balancing his cup of coffee in his other hand, as Gunn grinned and took the ball off him. The vampire hunter now had hair growing, though he kept it short and had also shaved off his small goatee, as he surveyed the offices of Wolfram and Hart

"Tell me why we're here"

"What, because we're crusaders against evil and now the law firm that represents most of the evil in the world has given us its LA branch to run however we want, probably in an attempt to corrupt, divide, or destroy us, and we all said yes in, like, three minutes?" Fred said, coming up behind them with Knox

"Your run-on sentences have gotten a lot less pointless," Wesley said

"Oh, that's so sweet. And a tad condescending," Fred said, "Come on, Knoxy"

The pair headed off for the laboratories, as Wesley and Gunn watched them go

"Don't you think it's a bit unseemly, adding Y's to the end of people's names?"

"Does that mean I have to call you 'Wesle'?" Gunn asked

Wesley rolled his eyes, drinking his coffee, just as Angel arrived, wearing a dark suit, his hair slicked back slightly

"You know what they did to me?" he asked, "They put a tracking device on me. I was just out, doing what I do, when the whole firm shows up"

"Protecting their biggest asset?" Gunn suggested

"Eh, whatever. Where's Cordy and Ashleigh?"

As if on cue, Cordelia arrived in the lobby, her two-year-old daughter on her hip. She looked around the lobby as she reached Angel, kissing him on the lips, as Angel picked up his daughter from his fiancée

"So, can someone please tell me why we are here again?" Cordelia asked

"Did Connor get to school alright?" Angel asked

"He sure did and let's not change the subject, Angel"

"I'm sorry. Well, for starters, we're gonna be changing things around, starting with that," Angel finished, walking into his office

"Hi there," the young sandy-haired woman smirked

"Who the hell are you?" Cordelia asked, looking the woman up and down

"The name's Eve. I'm the liaison to the Senior Partners. Don't think you can use me to get to them. I answer to them, don't lunch with them"

"Wasn't thinking of that," Angel muttered

"And what exactly is your purpose, Eve?" Wesley asked

"You guys now own Wolfram and Hart. You are free to run it however you like. You can close it down, destroy it, but then business dries up and clients move elsewhere," Eve explained, "Here's the catch. In order to keep this business running, you need to keep this business running. Understand?"

Angel simply had a bored look on his face as he glared at Eve. She smiled

"Great. Can't wait to start working with you guys"

Eve left the office, as Wesley and Gunn headed to their own. Cordelia closed the office doors, as Angel sat down at his desk, while Ashleigh sat on her mother's lap

"Having second thoughts?" Cordelia asked

Just before Angel could answer, the doors opened and an elderly man wearing a luchador mask entered, pushing a trolley full of mail. He stopped by the desk, dropping a medium sized package on the desk, before leaving. Angel took a look at it, before putting it aside

"You were saying?"

"Having second thoughts?" Cordelia replied, "I can tell. But, we're here and we might as well get this business running. It's not like you saved the world for nothing"

"Can we not talk about last year?" Angel asked, "I kinda don't. Too many bad stuff"

"At least because of that, Connor's now in school and I have a sparkly," Cordelia said, looking at the engagement ring on her hand, "At the expense of running this place"

"And we might as well get started," Angel said, "But I want some coffee"

He pressed the intercom button on his phone, asking for some coffee, after accidentally getting the Ritual Sacrifice domain. Cordelia leaned back, stroking her daughter's hair, as Angel went through some paperwork

"Here's your coffee"

Angel took the mug and looked up, surprise etching his face, while a familiar look had appeared on Cordelia's face, as she stood up

"Harmony??"

"Hey, guys," the blonde vampire grinned

"What are you doing here?" Angel asked, "Why aren't I killing you?"

"Angel, if you can, we need to look over some things," Wesley said, entering the office, "Oh, hey Harmony"

"Wesley was the one who hired me to be your secretary," Harmony said

"I thought a familiar face might help," Wesley said

"Okay, Harm, come near my kid and I'll stake you," Cordelia said

"Cordy, nice to see you! You look really great!" Harmony smiled, "And don't worry, I'm completely off human blood. Have been for months!"

"Okay, I need a break," Angel said, "Wes, you've got something for me?"

He left the office with Wesley, as Harmony turned back to Cordelia, while Ashleigh was standing next to her mother, holding onto her pants leg, unsure about this new, bubbly person before her

"So, how have you been?" Harmony asked

"Possessed by evil, got better," Cordelia replied, "You?"

"Been working here since we last met. Hey, cute kid! She yours too?"

"Yeah, this is my daughter, Ashleigh. Ashleigh, this is Mommy's friend, Harmony"

"Hi there!" Harmony grinned, kneeling before the little girl

"Hi," Ashleigh said shyly

"Ooh, she's cute! Anyway, gotta go! See you round the office"

Harmony smiled and left, as Cordelia sighed and sat down again

"She's weird," Ashleigh said

††††††††††

"Welcome everyone to class," the teacher called, "Welcome to your final year. Everyone, we have a new student. Please welcome Connor Chase-Angel"

Connor stood awkwardly before the class and shyly said hi. He was wearing jeans and a grey long-sleeved T-shirt, as well as his leather jacket that he had taken from a drug dealer two years earlier. Following Cordelia's awakening, Connor had enrolled in school at the request of his parents. Fred and Wesley gladly sat Connor down and prepared him with the education he was meant to learn. Although feeling ready, Connor couldn't help but feel nervous and awkward as he made his way to an empty desk and sat down, before getting out his books and pens

"Hey there," said a blond girl on Connor's right, "How are you?"

"Nervous. This is like the first time I've done this"

"And hopefully, the last time. Final year. Not gonna be fun, but let's make the most of it, shall we?"

"Connor Angel"

"Nina Ash. Nice to meet you, Connor"

Connor smiled to himself, before turning to his books

††††††††††


	2. Conviction

††††††††††

Gunn grunted in pain, strapped to the chair, before taking a huge drink from a large cup, as Doctor Sparrow stopped his work

"Slowly now"

"Are we done?" Gunn demanded

"No"

"Good. Then finish it!"

Sparrow grinned and went back to work, as Gunn grunted in pain once again

††††††††††

"So, how's this case coming along?" Angel asked

Their first case involved freeing a man who had dealt in human trafficking. He was due to face twenty years in prison as his lawyers kept failing to win the court battles for him. Then, he threatened to blow up Los Angeles if he was sentenced to prison, which meant that the team had to prevent that from happening. However, the case was not going in Wolfram and Hart's favour

"Terribly," Wesley replied, "Lorne's down there now, keeping an eye on proceedings, but a conviction won't be far away"

"This blows," Cordelia said, "Why are we even doing this? He deserves jail"

"If he's sentenced to jail, we can say goodbye to Los Angeles," Fred said

"We could always have the strike force take him out," Wesley suggested

"How do we know that killing him won't set the bomb off?" Angel asked

"We don't," Fred said, "I have Knox checking on viruses that we deal in"

"Ah-ha! Got something," Cordelia cried, before handing Angel a slip of paper

Angel read through it, before kissing Cordelia on the cheek and leaving

"What was that all about?" Fred asked

"I found something," Cordelia grinned, "Someone who did some work for our client"

††††††††††

_Half an hour later…_

"Hello, Wolfram and Hart front desk," Harmony said cheerfully into the phone

"Harm, is Wes or Cordy there?"

"Wesley went down to court. Fred's working on the virus and Cordy's in her office, also wo-"

"Harm, just put me through to Cordy!"

"Sure boss"

Cordelia was going over the case in her office, as the phone rang

"Cordy, Angel's on the phone," came Harmony's voice

"Yello, honey," Cordelia said, after picking up the phone

"Cordy, I spoke to the guy and I know where he put the virus for Mr Fries"

"Where?"

There was silence on the phone

"Angel, where?"

"Into his own. Into Mr Fries' own son"

Cordelia could hear the tension and anger in Angel's voice, even though he was trying to keep calm, but she knew he wasn't. She knew him too well

"Where are you now?"

"Coming back to the office. Actually, no, I've just arrived"

"Um, boss, we've got a slight problem," came Harmony's voice on the line

"Were you eavesdropping?" Angel asked

"No, I just came on. Listen, I heard that the cleaners have just left. And I know from the other girls that cleaners means a big job. Lots of bodies"

"Where did they go?"

"To the school. They left ten minutes ago"

"Well, dammit, how am I going to get there?"

"There's another way"

††††††††††

_Ten minutes later…_

"Go, go, go!" the commandoes cried

Smoke grenades were thrown into the classroom, as the commandoes then filed in; their guns aimed and ready to blast the schoolchildren apart. However, the classroom was empty, except for Angel sitting with his feet up on a desk

"So, turns out I own a helicopter," he grinned

The leader of the commandoes, Hauser, removed his balaclava

"Where are the children?"

"Oh, I removed them. Surely, you understand that"

"What about-?"

"Tradition? Why don't you know me?"

"Of course then, sir. Take him out"

Gunfire rang out. Angel dived away from the bullets, disappearing from sight behind a large desk. The gunfire ceased, as a commando headed over to check on him. However, he went flying, as Angel rose up, his game face on, as he grabbed a commando's arm and punched him in the ribs three times, then kicked him aside, before using the same leg to kick another commando in the chest. Punching a commando, Angel kicked a desk, sending it sliding into the legs of a commando, taking him down, then taking out his partner, who managed to shoot Angel in the shoulder. Growling, Angel slugged a commando in the jaw, taking him down, while another commando slashed with a wooden knife. Deflecting his arm, Angel grabbed the commando around the head and twisted hard, then kicked a commando who was trying to open a flask of holy water. Punching him in the face, Angel moved on, blocking two punches from two commandoes, before throwing them aside. Hauser punched Angel in the face, but missed with the second when Angel ducked under his arm. However, Hauser whirled around, striking Angel, who used the momentum to spin around and push off the wall, kicking Hauser in the head. Another commando went for Angel, only to get thrown out of the classroom, as Angel headed out and threw him down the hallway, then punched another commando, as Hauser came out, aiming his shotgun at Angel, who resumed his human face

"That won't kill me"

"It'll hurt. That part's fun. Angel, you don't seem to understand what's going on here. This is Wolfram and Hart. We're evil. I'm evil. You can't just expect to prance in here like a little fairy and start doing things your way"

"I'm not little," Angel cried, taking some offence at the comment

"You're insignificant," Hauser said, "An ant, compared to the power of Wolfram and Hart. I believe in evil. Because I have conviction"

"There's one more thing more powerful than conviction. Just one. Mercy"

Angel suddenly lunged, his foot shooting up and kicking the barrel of the shotgun under Hauser's jaw. Jerking his foot down, Angel fired the shotgun, blasting Hauser's head off and coating the wall in blood. Angel then simply turned and walked away

"What happened to mercy?" cried a surviving commando

"You just saw the last of it," Angel replied, disappearing around the corner

††††††††††

While the fight had been going on, another battle had taken place at the court. When all hope had seemed lost for Corbin Fries and therefore Los Angeles, Charles Gunn entered the court, much to the surprise of Wesley and Lorne. Once there, Gunn had managed to have the case postponed due to the judge having a connection to Corbin Fries via their tax office. Gunn had undergone a transformation in which an upgrade had been planted into his brain, giving him all knowledge of the law, demon and human. Now, they were at Wolfram and Hart, discussing the case

"You sure Wolfram and Hart didn't put anything evil in you?" Cordelia asked

"Mother, please," Gunn replied, before chopping his cigar, "I just got all knowledge of the law. It's still me, just smarter, that's all"

"And may I point out, he did save the day," Eve said, "Without using any violence. How'd you do?" she asked Angel with a knowing look

He simply glared at her

"Looking forward to this," Eve smiled, "Yay team"

Grinning at the group, she left the office, as Cordelia sat on Angel's desk

"I don't like her"

"We don't have to," Angel said

"Are we sure this is the right thing to do?" Fred asked, "We're making deals with the devil and fighting from within the belly of the beast"

"We came to Wolfram and Hart because it's a powerful tool," Angel said, getting up from his desk and grabbing a small package, "Whatever's coming next, we'll handle it, one case at a time"

He ripped the package open and an amulet dropped out. Angel had a feeling that the amulet looked familiar, as it began glowing. Black smoke and embers rose up from the amulet, swirling around in a whirlwind before Angel's desk. Cordelia quickly got off and joined Angel, as something began to form out of the smoke. A charred skeleton appeared, followed by flesh. Once clothing and skin started to appear, screaming could be heard, until the transformation was complete and Spike was standing before the group, looking at them in bewilderment

"Spike?" Wesley said in surprise

"Spike?" Cordelia cried, also in surprise

"Spike," Angel said with anger in his voice

"Blondie Bear!" Harmony beamed, bouncing into the office

††††††††††


	3. Nineteen Days Ago

††††††††††

_The Hellmouth, Sunnydale California, nineteen days ago…_

_Spike stood near the staircase, the amulet glowing around his neck, as it covered his entire body and blasted out a huge beam, smashing through Sunnydale High, bathing him in sunlight. Then, beams of sunlight were emitted from the amulet, incinerating the two Turok-Hans nearby, before reaching out across the cavern, reducing every single Turok-Hans to ashes, while blasting through the rock columns. The Hellmouth was starting to collapse, as the remaining Slayers made their escape. Buffy joined Spike, blood dripping from the scythe and the sword wound on her stomach_

"_Spike?"_

"_I need to do this," he replied, holding his hands up_

_Buffy took his hand in hers, as their entwined hands burst into flames. Spike looked at their burning hands, before looking into Buffy's adoring eyes_

"_I love you," she said_

"_No you don't, but thanks for saying it"_

_Just then, the entire Hellmouth rumbled and their hands fell apart_

"_Now go!" Spike cried_

_Buffy gave Spike one last look, before leaving the Hellmouth, as Spike grinned_

"_I wanna see how it ends"_

_He started laughing, revelling in the destruction as his body was slowly incinerated, before falling apart into ash and then he was no more…_

Spike gasped as the memory flooded his mind and he stared at everyone, wondering where he was and who the strange people were. He was dead, he kept telling himself, he died, burned up into dust, shouldn't be alive. These thoughts kept running over and over in Spike's head as he whirled around, taking everything in

"Who is this?" Fred asked

"This is Spike," Wesley said, "One of the worst vampires on record. Second to-"

"Me," Angel said, before looking at Spike, "But you're dead"

Spike growled, vamping out and he lunged at Angel, only to pass right through him and end up standing in his desk. Spike frowned, back in his human face

"Bollocks. Okay, what the bloody hell!"

Spike stepped out of the desk, as Angel looked him up and down

"What the bloody hell?"

"Okay, calm the hell down," Cordelia said

"Where the hell am I?" Spike cried, "Who are you people?"

"Los Angeles, but people sometimes get mistaken about Hell," Lorne said

"What is he doing here?" Cordelia demanded to Angel

"Cordelia? Oh god, now I am in Hell"

"I think he came via this," Fred said, picking the amulet up

"I think he's a ghost," Harmony said

"I'm no bloody ghost," Spike retorted

"You were the one standing _in_ the desk and you can't talk to me like that anymore. We're not dating"

"This is all _your _fault," Spike growled at Angel, "If you hadn't chickened out-"

"That was Buffy's call, not mine," Angel shot back

"Well, this isn't bleeding mine!"

"Okay, so I'm a little confused," Fred said

"Spike was an ally of Buffy's for some time," Wesley explained, "That's what Angel told me. That's all Angel told me"

"Maybe we should do some tests," Fred suggested, "Just to make sure he's a ghost"

††††††††††

"So, who are you? Gadget Girl?" Spike asked

"No, I'm Fred, I run the Science Division"

She was scanning him, while everyone else stood around, waiting for the results

"So, this is where everyone got to?" Connor said, coming into the lab, then catching sight of Spike, "Oh, who's this?"

"I'm gonna ask you the same question," Spike said

"Connor, this is Spike," Cordelia replied, "Spike, this is-"

"Connor? As in your son, Connor? As in Connor, who was born only about three years ago, if I remember correctly and thus, should only be three?"

"Long story," Angel replied, "Connor grew up in a hell dimension"

"Why is he here?" Connor asked, "And how does he know me?"

"Because he is your uncle," Cordelia answered, "Spike is related to you"

"I wish he wasn't," Angel muttered, "If I hadn't sired Dru, she wouldn't have sired Spike and we'd all be happy"

"Uncle Spike, huh?" Connor said, ignoring his father, "Should be fun"

"Yeah, likewise, kiddo," Spike said, before seeing Ashleigh walk in, "You got to be kidding me. You have two kids?! Does Buffy know about her?"

"Um, yes she does," Cordelia replied, before turning to Connor, "How was school?"

"It was alright. I went okay"

"Any pretty girls?"

Connor blushed

"Okay, scanning's complete," Fred said, "It's strange. Spike isn't showing the usual signs of being a ghost. There's no ectoplasm, so technically, we shouldn't be able to see him. Also, he's radiating heat"

"Think I'm hot?" Spike asked

"Lukewarm," Fred said, shooting him down, "Also, I'm detecting brain activity"

"On Spike?" Angel perked up, "That is unusual"

"He's an anomaly"

"Well, isn't this bloody great," Spike declared, "Burned up saving the world and this is the thanks I get? Put here in this bloody place with Angel? I mean, just because I've got me a soul-"

At that moment, Spike faded away

"Where'd he go?" Gunn asked

"What did he mean by 'soul'?" Wesley asked, looking at Angel

"Oh, um, he's got a soul now," Angel replied, "And he, um, helped Buffy save the world. Yeah, Buffy told me when I last saw her"

"Well, you could have told us," Cordelia shot at him

Spike then suddenly reappeared, looking around at everyone in confusion, though he looked like he hadn't notice his disappearing act

"Where'd you go?" Wesley asked

"Um, I went somewhere? I don't bleeding know. So, now what?"

"Well, this is perfect," Angel said, "I think we all have work to do"

He left the lab, followed by Wesley, Gunn, Cordelia, Connor and Ashleigh. Spike sighed, before looking at Fred, who was scribbling something on her clipboard. Seeing that she was busy, Spike headed towards the offices

††††††††††

_Later that night…_

"First day there and looks what happens," Angel said, "Evil client who wanted to bomb Los Angeles, Harmony as secretary and now Spike as a ghost"

"Could have been worse," Gunn said, "You didn't find a voodoo doll of yourself"

Night had fallen and the gang, minus Connor and Ashleigh, had gone to a nearby park so they could discuss their new job without any interference from Wolfram and Hart

"Well, we could always do something about Spike," Fred suggested

"Yeah, work on getting rid of him," Angel replied, "I don't care how"

"This won't be an easy job," Wesley said, "But we did-"

"Hey, Wes, can I borrow your pen?" Angel asked

Wesley shrugged and handed Angel his brand new pen. The vampire headed off, as Cordelia frowned, sharing a look with Gunn and Wesley. They all sighed and followed after Angel, heading into the nearby woods and finding him doing battle with a werewolf. A blond girl was on the ground nearby, blood running from slash wounds in her shoulder, but before anyone could do anything, she had taken off. Meanwhile, Angel smacked the werewolf's paw aside, before slugging it across the snout, then stabbing the pen into its throat. The werewolf growled, before collapsed, then transforming back into a human

"Where did the girl go?" he asked

"She took off before we could do anything," Gunn replied

"We've got to find her"

Angel and the others ran back to their vehicles, just as a car tore past them, spinning the tyres. Angel was able to catch sight of the number plates, before getting into his Viper with Cordelia, as Wesley got onto his motorcycle, Fred and Gunn got into the truck, while Lorne hopped into his convertible, before driving back to the office

††††††††††

Nina Ash arrived back at her home and quickly hurried up the stairs to the bathroom. She had been out on her daily jog near the woods when she had been attacked. She didn't know what had attacked her, but upon looking at the vicious slashes in her shoulder, she had a feeling it was some type of dog. Feeling woozy, Nina cleaned up the wound as best as she could, before heading to her room and collapsing on the floor, passing out as soon as she hit the wood

††††††††††


	4. Getting Closer to Hell

††††††††††

One of the first things Connor noticed when he arrived at class that morning was that Nina was absent. And since his father had told him that he had encountered a werewolf attacking a young blond woman, Connor decided to find out if she was the victim. Of course, time decided to go slowly, dragging school out. Connor was glad to be out of there when the final bell rang and he rode his bike over to Nina's place. Feeling nervous, Connor knocked on the door and waited

"Yes?" the middle-aged woman asked upon answering the door

"Hi, I'm Connor Chase, a friend of Nina's. Is she here?"

"She is, but I haven't see her all day. Been up in her room sick"

"Is it alright if I see her? I have her homework here"

Nina's mother bit her lower lip, before stepping back. Connor smiled and nodded his thanks, as Nina's mother showed him her room, before leaving. Knocking, Connor wasn't surprised when Nina didn't answer. Steeling himself, he opened the door and walked in, seeing Nina lying in her bed

"Connor, what are you doing here?" she cried, bolting upright

"I know what happened," Connor replied, "I know about last night"

"I don't know what you're talking about"

Quick as a flash, Connor was on the other side of the bed, seeing the slash marks already healing on Nina's shoulder. She was still in shock from his sudden movement

"What are you and how'd you move so fast?"

"My dad's a vampire and my mom's half-demon. I know, it sounds crazy, but it's the truth. You've been bitten by a werewolf"

"So that means-?" Nina started

"Yeah, upon the full moon, you will transform into a raging beast," Connor said, "But don't worry, my father can help. He owns Wolfram and Hart. Seriously"

"Can you cure me?"

"No, but we can make sure that you and your family is safe during the full moon. So, what do you say? Want me to help you? I promise I won't tell anyone else"

Nina bit her lower lip, looking around her room, before looking at Connor

"Okay then"

††††††††††

Spike was in a mood. Then again, he was always in a mood. He had only been back for not even twenty-fours hours and already he hated his new existence. He thought it was unfair how he had sacrificed his life, for Buffy, to save the world and now he was stuck as a ghost in Los Angeles in a company owned by Angel. To Spike, that was worse than Hell. To make matters worse, he was now aware of his 'slipping'

_"But I'm slipping between here and Hell. Don't think I have much time left"_

Sighing, Spike left the lobby, making his way towards the laboratory. There, he found Fred huddled over her paperwork, muttering to herself. She was so caught up in her work she didn't notice him standing beside her

"What you working on, pet?" he asked

"Oh God, Spike, don't do that again," Fred cried, "I'm working on a way to recorporealise you. It's not easy, but I think I'm getting there"

"You reckon you could make me solid? Make me a real boy again?"

"As real as a vampire with a soul could be"

"Well, that's good news then"

Fred's smile faded slightly

"What's wrong?" she asked

"Think you can hurry it up a bit?" Spike asked, "I'm slipping more and more. I'm getting closer to Hell by the minute"

"You're not going to Hell. I won't allow it"

"Great. Looks like there will be a hug in your future"

Spike gave Fred a smile and headed off. Feeling bored, as he couldn't interact with much, Spike headed towards the main office, walking through the front door and finding Angel sitting at his desk, looking over paperwork

"So, this is what the great hero does now, huh?" Spike asked, "How heroic"

"Spike, get lost," Angel said without looking up

"Oh come on, don't be such a spoilsport. I'm bored"

"Annoy someone else but me or Cordy"

"Fine then. Ponce"

Spike left the office, seeing Connor exit the elevator. Smirking, he swaggered over and attempted to clap the young man on the shoulder, only for his hand to pass completely through, sending a shiver through Connor

"Don't do that"

"Sorry, mate, couldn't resist. So, finished school for the day, huh?"

Connor was about to reply when Spike suddenly disappeared. Frowning, the teenager continued on towards his father's office, while Spike found himself standing in the basement. Chopping noises could be heard from nearby, as Spike headed towards them, coming across a man sitting at a table, his back to the vampire

"Hey, could you point me towards the nearest elevator?" Spike asked

When the man didn't reply, Spike edged closer, before seeing that the man was slicing his own fingers off. He whirled around and snarled at Spike, before disappearing. Wondering what was going on, Spike eventually made his way out of the basement, heading towards Angel's office

"Something's going on here"

"Yeah, I'm starting to get a headache and I know the cause," Angel groaned

Spike was about to retort, but stopped when he saw a woman hanging from the ceiling

"He comes," she groaned, "The Reaper comes"

And then, just like that, she was gone again, as Angel caught sight of Spike's look

"What?"

"Did you just see her?"

"See what?"

Spike shook his head and whirled around, seeing another woman before him. She grinned at him, a piece of glass sticking out of her eye. Then she was gone again

"What the hell is going on?" Spike asked, moreso himself

"Nothing's going on," Connor replied, "But it looks like you're going mad"

"Thanks for your help, Angel Junior. There are people here. Ghosts"

"Okay, fine, I'll have a sweep done," Angel said

Five minutes later and everyone were in Angel's office

"Spike's the only non-corporeal being in the building," Eve reported

"Check again," Spike said, "There's more of them coming"

"I think he's losing it," Cordelia said, "Maybe that amulet-"

Just then, Spike disappeared once again. However, this time, he didn't come back

"Where's Spike?" Fred asked, "He should be back here by now"

"Whatever is going on, it's now has Spike," Wesley said, "We need to find out what"

"Well, I'm got my corporeal device up and running. I just need a power source equal to that of nuclear evil," Fred said, "Maybe we could use that to bring Spike back"

"I think I can help with the power source," Gunn said, "It's not far from here"

"Okay guys, let's go then," Angel said, "Let's bring Spike back"

Meanwhile, Spike found himself back down in the basement again

"I've already played this one out"

"Don't worry, William, Reaper's coming for you"

Spike turned around, see Glassed-Eye before him. She giggled, removing the glass from her eye, then slashed him across the cheek, before disappearing. Touching a hand to his cheek, Spike was surprised to see blood on his fingers

"It won't hurt too much," said a lawyer with half his face burned away

"Hold me," cried an eighteenth-century maid who had no arms

"No, enough of this," Spike growled, "You want me, come get me!"

The apparitions disappeared. Spike looked around, but seeing nothing, he quickly made his way back out of the basement, heading towards the laboratory, searching for Fred. He found her in the shower, the glass all steamed up from the heat

"Whatever you've got, pet, please hurry it up," Spike muttered, "But even still, I just want to thank you for all your hard work"

He reached out, but found himself touching the glass. Surprised, Spike tried again, but his hand simply passed through. Gritting his teeth, Spike began to concentrate, writing the word 'Reaper' in the glass. He stepped back, as Fred turned the shower off and turned around, seeing the word there

"Spike?"

KRITSCH!!

The glass cracked and Spike went flying through the wall, pulled by an invisible force, before landing heavily on the floor of the basement. Seeing a pair of boots before him, Spike looked up at the owner, who was grinned sadistically while fingering a small knife

"Time to play," Pavayne grinned

Meanwhile, Fred had dried herself off and quickly got dressed, before racing towards Angel's office, where everyone was busy researching

"Cross-reference with the word 'Reaper'," Fred suggested

"How'd you come up with that?" Wesley asked

"Came to me in the shower"

"Here it is," Cordelia said, "Matthias Pavayne. Nasty sort of guy"

"Great, now we just need a way to stop the guy," Angel said, "Oh and save Spike"

††††††††††


	5. Spike vs Pavayne

††††††††††

Spike groaned, hitting the floor as blood ran from the cuts on his face

"You can't fight against it, boy," Pavayne said, "You're in my world now"

"Go to Hell," Spike groaned, trying to crawl away

"In time. But for now, you shall take my place instead"

Pavayne pulled Spike up onto his feet, spinning him around

"Reality bends to desire. This is my playground. Everything I want to happen will"

Pavayne suddenly disappeared, while all of Spike's injuries were instantly healed

"Vampire with a soul. Thinks he can do good with it. Won it all for love. But scratch the surface," Pavayne's voice rang out

"Little nancy still crying for his mummy," said Glass-Eye

"This isn't real," Spike said, mainly to himself, "None of this is real"

"Oh, it's real alright, boy. Anything I wish to happen can. This is my world"

At that moment, Spike's clothes suddenly disappeared, leaving him naked in the basement, as Glass Eye appeared behind him and stabbed him in the shoulder. Spike cried out, falling to one knee as he clutched a hand to his wound. Glass Eye, Burnt Lawyer, Hangman and Armless all suddenly appeared, smirking at Spike

"They're not real. They can't be here"

"No, but I can make them be here. Died themselves in servitude to Wolfram and Hart. Burning now, screaming forever"

"So, you throw them down the chute?"

"They burn, I stay out of Hell. And you're next"

Pavayne grinned and grabbed Spike by the back of his head, as a black swirling portal opened up before them. Spike gasped as he realized what he was seeing

"Yes, boy, look. Hell knows you're ready. There's no point in squirming. Funny, how the vampire soul that blesses you also condemns you to suffer"

"I may deserve to go to Hell," Spike said, before growling, "But not today"

His elbow shot up, striking Pavayne in the jaw and throwing him back

"You dare!" Pavayne cried

"Quite a bit, mate," Spike replied, standing up, "Reality bends to desire, right? That's why I was able to touch the wall, write your name on it for Fred. All I had to do was want it bad enough"

Spike's clothes then fully materialized on his body, as he gave Pavayne an evil smirk

"And guess what I want to do now, you prissy son-of-a-bitch!"

CRACK!

††††††††††

"How's it going?" Angel asked

"I've got the juice from the big cat upstairs," Gunn said, handing Fred a canister of black liquid, "Use it well. Told me we won't be getting any more"

Fred took the canister and inserted it into a larger canister, as Wesley flicked a few switches, before lowering a large handle, while everyone stood around and watched

"Whoa, Fred, this is a neat toy," Cordelia said, "How'd you do it?"

"I don't know honestly," Fred replied, "Just did it. Hopefully it'll work"

"How do we let Spike know?" Angel asked

"We don't. This baby will put out enough juice to light up ghost city"

"Let's hope this works," Cordelia said, as Fred flicked a switch

††††††††††

Pavayne groaned and got to his feet, whirling around as Spike's fist crashed into his jaw. He threw his fist, but Spike blocked and punched him again, followed by a second punch, then an uppercut. Pavayne stumbled back, before throwing a punch, only for Spike to parry the blow and elbow him in the stomach, then landing a left hook that knocked him back. Growling, Pavayne went to punch again, but Spike caught his fist, then punched and backhanded him, before spinning under his arm and twisting it, then delivering a kick to Pavayne's ribs, throwing him through the wall. Pavayne rolled back onto his feet, as Spike stepped through, delivering punch after punch, knocking Pavayne back into a table

"Not so fun when we fight back, huh?" Spike asked

He swung his fist, but was surprised when Pavayne caught it and grinned

"Starting to be"

He swung his fist, crashing it against Spike's cheek and rocking him back. Spike growled and swung, but Pavayne blocked and kicked him in the stomach. Stumbling back, Spike punched Pavayne in the jaw, but scored two blows in return, as Pavayne then delivered an uppercut that knocked Spike on his back. He sank through the floors, finally landing on his face in the lobby, as Pavayne landed before him

"Understand, here I am God and you are wood for the fire"

Pavayne picked Spike up and drew back his fist, but a wave of light suddenly passed over them. Pavayne was looking around in confusion, as Spike clocked him in the jaw and raced off. Pavayne growled, watching him go

"No, this won't do. This won't do at all"

"He's close," Fred said, reading her meter, "Spike, get into the circle. We only have one chance to make you corporeal a-"

She started choking, as Spike arrived in the laboratory, seeing Pavayne holding Fred by the throat. Everyone went for Fred, but Pavayne grinned, throwing them all back with a blast of telekinesis. A whooping sound could be heard, counting down the time until the machine started. Spike was looking between Pavayne and the machine, wondering which one to choose

"The girl? Or the flesh? There's not much time for both. There's hope for you yet"

Spike looked between Pavayne and the machine again, before making his decision

"Not really," he said, appearing beside Pavayne

Spike backhanded him, as the timer reached zero and a wave of light washed over the entire laboratory. Everyone got to their feet as Pavayne appeared before them

"No! Defilers! I'll cut you in slivers. I'll swim in lakes of your own blood"

"You'll shut the hell up," Angel said

He slugged Pavayne across the face, throwing him against the wall, before punching him again, as Spike materialised before him

"Don't kill him. If he becomes a spectre, we can't stop him"

"Fine. No killing. Just a whole lot of bruising," Angel said, punching Pavayne

††††††††††

Wesley and Gunn watched Fred as she picked up her burnt notes, looking at them sadly, before placing them aside, then continuing her cleaning up

"Why don't you take a break?" Wesley asked her

"I can't," Fred started

"Go on," Cordelia said, "We'll finish up here"

Fred nodded and grabbed her notes, heading to her office. Sighing, she threw her notes onto her desk, before sitting down, as Spike appeared before her

"Don't suppose you've got a second one?"

"Most of those parts were non-existent to begin with"

Spike nodded and sat down beside Fred

"I'm sorry, Spike"

"Ah, don't be, pet. Made my choice. Wouldn't change it for a minute"

"Guess I was right," Fred smiled, "That you are worth saving"

Spike smiled to himself

"Don't have it so bad. Nice company. Plus, I can do this"

Focusing all of his energy, Spike managed to pick up a mug as Fred smiled

"I'm not going to stop, you know," she said

"I know, pet. And thank you. Very much"

††††††††††

"Sure it will hold him?" Angel asked

"If it's one thing Wolfram and Hart excels at, it's making their unmentionables unmentionable," Eve smiled

Angel smiled and turned to Pavayne, who was strapped inside a small cabinet, held in place by strips that sent an electromagnetic pulse through his body, preventing him from making any movement

"Congratulations," Angel said, "You get to live forever. Welcome to Hell"

Eve smiled and closed the door, shutting Pavayne inside

††††††††††

_Two days later…_

Angel opened his eyes and yawned, before sitting up, making sure not to wake Cordelia up. He looked around his penthouse, remembering what day it was today. Just then, the door opened up and Ashleigh peeked inside

"Come here, baby," Angel whispered

Ashleigh smiled and walked inside, climbing up onto the bed, as Angel pulled his daughter into a hug. She giggled, but softly enough so she didn't wake her mother

"Guess what day it is today," Angel said, "Mommy and Daddy are getting married"

††††††††††


	6. Our Wedding Day

**Well, here is Angel and Cordelia's wedding. I hope you all enjoy it**

††††††††††

"So, Angel, getting hitched, huh?" Spike asked, hands in pockets, "Who would have thought? The Scourge of Europe getting married. I never would have believed it"

"Don't get in the way, Spike," Angel growled, "I don't want you ruining things"

Two workers carrying a table walked right through Spike as he watched them go

"Oh don't worry, I won't be in the way. And it's not like I can do anything to ruin your big special day. Incorporeal, remember?"

"You still annoy me"

"Well then, at least I'm doing something right"

Angel rolled his eyes and headed to his penthouse. The wedding was due to start in about three hours. Cordelia, Harmony and Fred had already gone out to get their hair and nails done, while Wesley, Lorne and Gunn were busy setting things up for the reception. Connor had taken Ashleigh to the nearest park to keep her out of the way, while Angel was busy trying to finalize things and get himself ready

"Hey, Angel, anything I can do?" Spike asked, appearing in the room

"Get lost?" Angel suggested

Spike shrugged and left, as Angel went for a long, hot shower. Once he was dry, Angel got dressed into his wedding clothes, thinking about the wedding. He was happy that everything was going smoothly. It had been a hectic couple of years, with Connor's kidnapping, Angel's trip to the ocean floor and Cordelia's possession last year, all which had delayed the proposal. But Angel was glad he had been able to do that after Cordelia woke up from her coma and that she had accepted the proposal. He was also happy that with running Wolfram and Hart, he was able to pay for the wedding. Cordelia wanted a lavish wedding and he was giving that to her

_"Got so much to do"_

Once he was dressed, Angel headed out into the lobby, seeing everyone moving around, checking things off their lists and shouting out orders. He could see Lorne amongst the mess, hording the employees around

"Hey, Lorne, how's things?" Angel asked

"Oh, you look smashing, Angelcakes," Lorne grinned, "Things are hectic, as always, but everything will be perfect for our lovely couple"

"That's good then. Where are Wesley and Gunn?"

"Getting things sorted out. Then, they have to get ready"

"Well, this looks like fun," Spike drawled in a bored tone, "And the one thing that sucks is that I can't get on the piss. Wouldn't that be interesting?"

"No, sorry to say, Blondie Bear," Lorne said, before heading off

"Spike, why must you be so annoying?" Angel growled, "Don't ruin this for me"

"Wouldn't dream of it," Spike said, "Cheerleader would find a way to send me to Hell if I did anything to ruin her special day. She told me herself and there was something in her tone of voice that made me believe her"

"Yeah, that sounds like Cordy. Now, Spike, stay out of the way"

"Not like I can do anything anyway"

Spike walked off, as Angel sighed and checked his watch. It was getting closer

††††††††††

"Whoa, Cordy, you look beautiful," Fred gushed

"You really think so?" Cordelia asked, looking down at herself

"Take another twirl," Harmony said, "Then we can really tell you"

Cordelia did another twirl in her wedding dress

"Perfect," Fred said, "You look stunning, Cordy. You'll knock Angel off his feet"

"Hopefully not literally," Cordelia said, checking herself in the mirror, "Cause I know I'd hate it if Angel faints. There'd be hell to pay"

"I wonder how the boys are doing," Harmony said

"They better have things in order," Cordelia said, "How's my make-up?"

"Very good," Fred said, "Maybe a slight touch-up here"

"Oh God, I'm so nervous. How can I be? I'm Cordelia Chase-"

"Soon to be Cordelia Angel," Harmony cut in

"The point is, I'm Cordelia Chase. Nothing fazes me. Well, except for maybe childbirth, which I'm endured twice. But a wedding is something different"

"You've been with Angel for four years now," Fred said, "You have two children together. It'll be a walk in the park. Just breathe and relax. You'll be fine"

"Yeah, you're right. I'll be fine"

††††††††††

_Three hours later…_

Angel stood before the altar in the chapel, waiting. Wesley and Gunn were beside him as best men, while Lorne, Spike, Connor, and Nina were all seated in the front row, with Wolfram and Hart employees seated behind them. Angel was nervous as he waited for his bride to arrive. Sure enough, the doors opened up and Ashleigh walked in, throwing rose petals along the aisle, as Fred followed her slowly, followed by Harmony. Once they were inside, Cordelia appeared, walking down the aisle. If he were living, Angel would have lost his breath at the sight of Cordelia. She was looking absolutely stunning in her wedding dress. Angel focused completely on his bride, blocking everything else out until she took her place beside him

"Ladies and gentlemen, family and friends, we are gathered here today to celebrate a very special day. A day in which true love is declared and two people are bonded together for life in an act of love. I present to you, Liam O'Malley Angel and Cordelia Louise Chase, here before you to be joined together in holy matrimony. I also present to you their children, Connor Francis Chase-Angel and Ashleigh Chloe Chase-Angel"

Angel gave his children a quick smile, before turning back to his beaming bride

"May the ring-bearer step forth with the rings?" the celebrant asked

Connor stepped forward and headed the celebrant the wedding rings

"Angel, take this ring as a symbol of your love and repeat after me: Cordelia, I promise to you to shelter you, to care for you, in sickness and in health, throughout the rest of our lives, but more importantly, I promise to love you always. Wear this ring as a symbol of my faith, love and commitment to you"

Angel repeated the words to Cordelia, before placing the ring on her finger

"Cordelia, take this ring as a symbol of your love and repeat after me: Angel, I promise to you to care for you, in injuries or broodiness, to keep you down to earth and to remind you of who you are, but more importantly, I promise to love you always. Wear this ring as a symbol of my faith, love and commitment to you"

Cordelia repeated the words to Angel, before placing the ring on his finger

"Now, before I finish this ceremony, is there anyone who objects to this union?"

Angel was expecting Spike to raise his hand, but to his surprise, Spike didn't

"Then, if there are no objections, by the power vested in me by our Lord, I now pronounce you as vampire and wife. Angel, you may now kiss the bride"

Angel smiled and pulled Cordelia close, before kissing her on the lips, as everyone stood up and applauded. Spike also stood up, giving the couple a fairy clap. The song 'Gimme All Your Lovin' by ZZ Top was playing as the newly wedded couple made their way down the aisle and quickly out to the Plymouth GTX

"I can't believe it," Fred said, as the GTX drove away, "They're married. Finally"

"Wish I had a cigarette," Spike grumbled, "I needed one"

"You'll live, Blondie," Gunn said, "Well, not really, seeing as you're a ghost"

"Can it, Charlie-boy"

"Now, we best be going to the reception," Wesley said, "Our limo should be here"

Sure enough, a Wolfram and Hart limousine pulled up before them. Wesley smiled and got in, followed by everyone else, as all the employees were making their way back to the office. Once they reached the building, they headed straight towards one of the large conference rooms, which had been transformed into the reception room

"Like what I've done with the place?" Lorne smiled, grabbing a glass of seabreeze

"Well, I gotta get going," Connor said, "Mom and Dad would be having their photos taken, so Ash and I have to be there"

"Sure, Connor," Fred said

Connor took his sister by the hand and left the room, as people started filling up the room. Thirty minutes later and the newly married couple had arrived

"I present to you, Mr and Mrs Angel," Lorne cried into the mike

Everyone applauded, as Angel and Cordelia made their way to the head table, sitting in the centre, with Fred and Harmony on Cordelia's side and Wesley and Gunn on Angel's side, while Connor and Ashleigh were at the table nearby

"Is this bloody wonderful," Spike muttered to himself from the back of the room, "Captain Forehead has finally gotten hitched, to the Cheerleader no less"

He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest, thinking about Buffy and what she would be doing right now. He had heard that she was currently in Europe, seeking out newly activated Slayers and training them against the forces of darkness. Although he was missing her, he didn't regret sacrificing himself to save the world. He knew it had meant something to Buffy. But now, Spike felt that his great sacrifice had been cheapened by his resurrection. But it gave him another chance to be with Buffy. He just needed to find a way to become solid once again and then he would leave Los Angeles, before travelling to Europe in search of Buffy

††††††††††


	7. Destiny

††††††††††

_Two weeks later…_

Angel sighed as he made his way down the lobby stairs. It had been hectic during these past few days. Following the wedding, Angel and Cordelia had gone on their honeymoon for two weeks in Greece. However, they had been called back a week earlier when a deal between Wesley and a gangster went awry due to ninjas. Soon afterwards, Wesley's father, Roger, had arrived at Wolfram and Hart, along with the ninjas, which turned out to be cyborgs. Roger then revealed his true colours by attempting to steal Angel's free will and when he threatened Fred, Wesley shot him dead, only to reveal Roger as a cyborg. Distraught by the thought that he had killed his father, Wesley left for England to visit his real father, while the cyborgs hadn't been seen since. But that wasn't the only problem Angel was having

"Just give me what I want," Spike said

"You're not getting an office, Spike. All you do is annoy me"

"Job well done then. At least give me Wesley's office, since he's gone"

"He's not gone. Just on a leave of absence"

"Yeah, all because he thought he killed his father. Boo-hoo. Try killing your mother when she's coming onto you!" Spike shouted at Angel's retreating back

"Wow, that explains everything," Harmony said

Spike shook his head and went to follow after Angel, but Harmony stopped him

"Look, it was a very long time ago," he said

"You have a parcel"

"Who would be sending-?"

"Post to a ghost?" Harmony asked, "Don't know. Kinda heavy"

She set the small box down and grabbed a knife, before opening the box. A bright flash of light quickly appeared, then disappeared, leaving Harmony blind for a second and Spike standing before the desk with a bored look

"Well, that was a slap and a tickle," he said, before walking away, "If you've got anymore like that, I'll be in your boss' office, telling him what a miserable bas-"

At that moment, Spike struck the door and bounced right off

"Oh, bugger, that hurt! Hang on"

Angel opened the door, as Spike stood up and began touching himself

"I can feel," he said, before touching Angel, "I can touch"

"Stop touching me"

Spike then tasted his own blood and smiled

"I can taste"

He then nabbed Angel's mug and drained all the blood out of it

"Mm, oh god, it's bloody ambrosia. Is this otter?"

"Hey, what's going on with the phones?" Gunn asked, looking towards Harmony, who was squinting her eyes in pain

"I'm back, Charlie-boy, that's what!" Spike cried, hugging him

"He's corporeal," Gunn said, "How?"

"Don't know, don't care, but give them a kiss from me when you see them"

"Harmony, what's going on with the phones?" Angel asked

"Don't know, boss," Harmony replied, "All there is this 'eeeeeeee' noise"

"Harm," Spike grinned devilishly, before kissing her, then turning to Angel, "Need to borrow your gal Friday for a moment"

"Permission denied"

"Wasn't asking"

"What the hell, Spike?" Harmony cried, "You can't just do th-"

"That is a very pretty skirt you're wearing," Spike said

Harmony shared a grin with Spike, before turning to Angel

"Going on a long lunch"

Spike grinned and headed off with Harmony, as Angel growled and headed into his office, followed by Gunn, as he sat at his desk and went to drink from his mug, but then realized that it was empty, just as Fred entered

"There's something going on with the gauges," she said, "They're spiking badly. It's like something catastrophic is about to happen"

"Wonderful, more great news," Angel said, "He drank all my mug. Harmony!"

"She's having a nooner with Blondie Bear, remember?" Gunn said

"What?" Fred cried

"Nooner. It's when you have sex-"

"I know what a nooner is, Charles. You're saying she's with Spike?"

"Oh yeah, he's corporeal again," Angel said, "Around the same time everything is going crazy and I can't believe I'm just realizing that now"

"Angel, what the hell is going on here?" Cordelia asked, bursting into the office, "Things are going loco and it's not just the phones. The employees are going mad. One just bludgeoned another with a fire extinguisher"

"Seems like we've got trouble," Eve said, walking in, "That starts with 'T', rhymes with 'P', which stands for prophecy. Shanshu"

"Oh god, not this again," Angel groaned

"What do you mean?" Cordelia asked, "Angel is the contender for the Shanshu"

"Not right now," Eve explained, "That is for a vampire with a soul. Right now, there are two vampires with souls. Now he's back, everything is going crazy"

"But Spike had a soul before he died," Fred said, "So why now?"

"That was before he died and became a Champion. But now that's he corporeal again, all bets are off. So, how'd you do it? How'd you bring him back?"

"We didn't. Something else did"

Angel sighed and left his office, following Spike's scent to an office room, just as Spike walked out, fully dressed and sporting two puncture wounds on his neck

"I don't know what you put in the water here, but your secretary just tried to tear me a few new ones. Had to put her porch lights out. For the best"

"Oh yeah, you're a real hero," Angel said

"And that's our problem," Eve said

"You're blaming this on us?" Spike asked

"No, she's blaming it on you"

"Two vampires with souls can't exist with each other. The equilibrium is getting thrown off," Eve continued

"Fine then, I'm outta here. Screw this place, screw this city and screw you too, Angel, for good measure," Spike said

"Leaving this town won't help, Spike"

"Well, how are you gonna fix it, Mr Hero?"

"Wesley may not be here, but his office is," Eve said, "Maybe we could find something out there about the prophecy"

††††††††††

"You didn't read the prophecy," Sirk smirked, "You might as well have read a five-year-old's take on the Shanshu"

"Just tell us what's going on," Angel said

Sirk sighed and reached for the nearest book, before opening to the Shanshu article. Angel and Spike were waiting with bated breath, along with everyone else

"The root of the tree will split in two. And each thing will seek nourishment from the buried river," Sirk read

"Sounds like a gardening tip," Spike retorted

"It's metaphor. Please tell me I don't have to explain metaphor to you people"

"Sirk, the text," Angel said

"Ah. Here we are. "Storm unleashed. The balance will falter until the vampire with a soul drinks from the cup of perpetual torment"," Sirk finished

"More metaphor," Angel said

"No, that's real"

"So there's a cup?" Cordelia asked

"Perpetual torment? Just know that's not gonna taste very good," Spike grimaced

"He will have the weight of worlds upon him, binding his limbs, grinding his bones to meal until he saves creation... or destroys it," Sirk read

"Where does it say the cup is?" Gunn asked

"It does offer some details, yes. Housed in the hidden city of Petra. Mm-hmm. Disappears during the crusades. Surfaces again at the Vatican. Vanishes in the third year of the inquisition. Then...yes. Interesting. It's in Nevada," Sirk said

"Nevada?" Cordelia asked

"Death Valley, to be exact. "The earth will thrash and mark the appearance of the cup at the columns. And the desert will swallow cup and house whole and" – this can only be loosely translated. "And the fat lady will sing no more"

"Opera," Angel said, "The columns was an opera house in Death Valley. It was buried in an earthquake in '38. Made headlines in Los Angeles. That's only a few hours away. Where's Spike?"

††††††††††

_Two hours later…_

Angel arrived at the opera house in Death Valley, seeing the Viper nearby. Growling and mentally reminding himself to stake Spike, he entered the opera house, instantly picking up his grandchilde's scent. Moving silently, Angel made his way through the darkness, before coming out into a large stage area. And there, sitting on a pedestal, was the Cup of Perpetual Torment. Angel leapt down silently to the stage, just as Spike dropped down beside him from the rafters above

"Thought it'd be a little less goldeny. What, with the torment and all"

Angel sighed and rolled his eyes

"So, what now?"

Spike sighed, then suddenly punched Angel in the jaw, throwing him away

"What do you think?" he grinned

††††††††††


	8. Angel vs Spike

††††††††††

"More patients are coming in," Gunn said, "They're on the rise

"What seems to be the trigger?" Eve asked

"Don't know," Fred said, "There seems to be no pattern amongst the patients"

"Why are you answering her questions, Fred?" Gunn asked, his eyes bleeding

He growled and lunged, grabbing Eve around the throat, before slamming her against the wall and tightening his grip, as she struggled to breathe

"What are you?" Gunn demanded, "You think you can keep playing us?"

Fred grabbed a tranquilliser gun, but Gunn backhanded her, then kicked Cordelia in the stomach, throwing them back, before turning back to Eve

"You some kind of monster? Show me! Heh, guess you gotta breathe"

Fred struck Gunn with a metal tray, instantly knocking him unconscious, as Eve coughed, sucking in much needed air

††††††††††

"Come on! Let's see how much of a soul you've got," Spike said

"Spike, we don't have time for this," Angel said

"Keep your knickers dry, Sally, you're not gonna last that long"

"Fine, we'll do it your way"

Angel rose up and struck Spike in the face, followed a second, third and fourth punch. Spike ducked under the fifth punch, trading places with Angel. He blocked Angel after the seventh punch, before grabbing him and throwing him up onto a nearby nine-foot-high balcony. Angel's hand landed on a large cross, burning him. Hissing in pain, Angel kicked the cross at Spike, who laughed

"Oh yeah, look at you. The big hero. Fighting for truth, justice and soccer moms. But you still can't lay a hand on a cross without smelling like bacon"

"Like you're any different"

"That's the thing. I am and you know it. you had a soul forced upon you, as a curse, to make you remember all the dirty little things you've done. Me, I fought for my soul. Went through the demons trials. Almost done me in a dozen times over, but I kept fighting. Because I knew it was the right thing"

Spike then leapt up onto the balcony

"It's my destiny"

"Funny. I heard it was to get into a girl's pants"

Spike growled and kicked up a rebar rod into his hands and swung, but Angel leapt over him, somersaulting off the balcony and landing near the cup. He reached out for it, as a rebar rod impaled the ground just inches from him. Angel looked up, as Spike came leaping off the balcony with a second piece of rebar. Quick as a flash, Angel grabbed the first piece and blocked Spike's strike, before shoving him back. Spike swung his rebar like a weapon, but Angel blocked, as Spike then swung at his ankles. Blocking the blow, Angel moved the staff out of the way, before spinning around with a jab. Spike spun his staff, blocking the blow, before holding his staff like a weapon, as Angel spun his staff around and rested it on his shoulders

"You sure you want to do this, Spike?"

"Of course. Wouldn't have started it otherwise"

Spike lunged and swung, but Angel blocked, deflecting Spike's next few blows, before shoving him back. The two vampires then spun their staffs around themselves, before attacking again. Angel blocked Spike's strike, as he spun around, but was blocked again. Angel swung his staff, as Spike blocked, before moving to deflect the next move, but Angel feinted, cracking Spike in the face and knocking him down onto a small ramp. Spike glared at his grandsire, blood running from his nose

"Used to hit a lot harder than that, Gramps," he said

"No, your head's just gotten thicker," Angel growled

He swung, but Spike rose up and blocked, before deflecting the next blows that rained down. Angel kept swinging his staff, forcing Spike to back up along the ramp as he struggled to fend the blows off. once they reached the end of the ramp, Angel struck, his staff slamming into Spike's face and throwing him through wooden railings. Spike turned around, blood running from his lip, as Angel spun his staff around and brought it down overhead. However, Spike managed to stand up and block the move

"Not gonna win this time," he growled

Spinning his staff around, Spike struck Angel in the stomach, making him drop his staff, before cracking his grandsire in the face. Angel broke through more railings, falling down a small set of stairs, landing on the stage on his back, coughing in pain, blood covering his mouth and nose

"Vampire with a soul," Spike said, dropping down the stairs, "Don't know which side he'll fight on when the big show comes down. But we already know which side you're on. Traded in your cape and tights for a nice chair in Wolfram and bloody Hart!"

Spike thrusted the staff end at Angel, hoping to impale him through the throat. However, Angel was faster, catching the staff inches from his face

"Little bit complicated than that"

Stabbing the staff into the ground, Angel flipped up from the ground, kicking Spike in the face and landed on his feet, all in one swift movement, as Spike fell back onto a crate. Angel then grabbed the staff and threw it away

"Always were a bit simple, Willy," he growled, heading for the cup

Just as he reached for the cup, Spike slammed into him, throwing him away from the cup. The two vampires rolled along the ground, before rising up, both holding each other by the throat, glaring at each other with hatred

"Go on, hero, teach me more," Spike growled, "Tell me what it means. And I'll tell you why you can't stand the bloody sight of me"

He punched Angel in the face, as Angel punched him back

"Tell it to your therapist," the older vampire said, punching his grandchilde

Spike growled and punched Angel in the stomach, before elbowing him in the back, knocking him to his knees, then holding him up by his lapels, followed by a punch

"Cause every time you look at me," Spike said, punching Angel, "You see all the dirty things I've done" punch "All the lives I've taken" punch "Because of you" punch "Drusilla sire me" punch "But you. you made me a monster"

Spike punched Angel again, before walking off, as Angel held himself up

"I didn't make you, Spike," he said, a bit of his Irish accent creeping in, "I just opened up the door and let the real you out"

He turned around, as Spike swung the large cross into his jaw, sending Angel flying through the air. He slammed against the wall and fell into a slump, as Spike gripped the cross, despite his hands sizzling from the contact. Once the pain became too much, he threw the cross aside

"You never knew the real me. Too busy trying to see your own reflection, praying there was someone as disgusting as you in the world, so you could stand to live with yourself. Take a long look, hero. I'm nothing like you!" Spike shouted

"No, that's why Buffy never really loved you," Angel said, "Because you weren't me"

Growling, Spike raced over and lifted Angel up by his lapels

"I guess she was thinking about you then. All those times I was putting it to her!"

Growling, Angel grabbed Spike's wrists and forced them away, before slugging him in the face. Spike swung his fist, but Angel interlocked their arms, before spinning around and throwing Spike through the air. He crashed into wooden stairs, splintering them, as Angel lifted him up and punched him. Spike had grabbed a small crude stake and swung, but Angel took the stake in his forearm, before kicking Spike away and ripping the stake out, as Spike grabbed another piece of wood

"Alright then. Let's finish this," Angel said, before vamping out

Spike grinned, his vamp face sliding into view. Then, the vampires lunged at each other. Angel punched Spike in the face, followed by a second blow, as Spike swung his stake, but Angel blocked and slashed him across the chest

"How that feel?"

He swung his stake, but Spike blocked, spinning his arm out of the way, then slashed Angel across the chest, grinning at his grandsire's growl of pain

"You tell me"

Angel stabbed with his stake, but Spike spun around him, elbowing him in the back, before spinning back and grabbed Angel's wrist, as Angel drove his knee up into Spike's wrist, making him lose his stake. Spike did the same with Angel, then spun around and delivered a kick to his chest, knocking him down, then caught the stake out of mid-air, before driving it into Angel. He cried out in pain, his vamp face sliding away, the stake having impaled him through the shoulder

"Probably should stake you," Spike said, resuming his human face, "But honestly, I don't wanna Cheerleader bitch about it"

He walked off, grabbing the cup and raising it, as Angel got to his feet

"Spike, wait. Wait. That's not a prize you're holding. It's not a trophy. It's a burden. It's a cross. One you're gonna have to bear till it burns you to ashes. Believe me. I know. So ask yourself: Is this really the destiny that was meant for you? Do you even really want it? Or is it that you just want to take something away from me?"

"Bit of both," Spike replied, before drinking from the cup

He then dropped the cup, before giving Angel a bewildered look

"I-it's... Mountain Dew"

††††††††††

_A few hours later…_

Angel burst into the laboratory, seeing Gunn and Harmony strapped down. He was still bloodied and bruised from his fight with Spike

"Angel, what happened to you?" Cordelia asked

"Fell down some stairs. Really big stairs. The cup was a fake. Someone set us up," Angel said, "So the cup is fake, but the madness is real. What do we do?"

At that moment, Spike walked in, also bloodied and bruised. Cordelia looked at him, before turning to her husband

"Stairs, huh?"

"Can we untie the brother?" Gunn asked

Angel unstrapped him, then unstrapped Harmony who was coming to. Gunn groaned and sat up, looking around the room, before holding a hand to his head

"What happened?"

††††††††††

"Senior Partners stepped in and took control of the situation," Eve explained, "As for Sirk's disappearance, well, they don't know. They're really angry"

"Sure they are," Angel muttered darkly

"Well, I'm off. I'm gonna go home and ice my neck"

Eve smiled and walked off, as Angel sighed, before looking at Cordelia and Gunn

"He beat me guys. Spike beat me. He wanted it more than I did"

"So what?" Gunn said, "Soon, you'll be back to kicking his ass"

"I don't know, Gunn. Spike was stronger this time"

††††††††††

Eve arrived at her apartment and locked the door behind her. The walls and door had tribal designs painted on them, as Eve started to get undressed

"Angel and Spike didn't quite kill each other, but they did beat the bloody pulp out of each other. Also, causing the universe to go wacko is not as fun as I thought it would be. Oh and Sirk managed to escape from right under the Senior Partners' noses"

She smiled and slid into bed, cuddling up to Lindsey McDonald, as he kissed her head

"Well," he smiled, "It's a start"

††††††††††


	9. A New Champion

††††††††††

_Angel was lying on the ground, bloodied and beaten. Spike drank from the Cup of Perpetual Torment, as a bright light covered him and he closed his eyes, revelling in the feeling. Angel started screaming as the light burnt him to ashes…_

Angel woke up with a start, a slight sheen of sweat covering his body. He was the only one lying in bed, Cordelia already having gone to work. Taking in a few deep breaths, Angel decided to get up, but at the same time, he didn't want to. He still felt so sleepy. Maybe a few more minutes sleep, he decided, then he would go to work. His eyes closed and he drifted off to sleep, entering another dream

††††††††††

"What is taking Angel so long?" Cordelia asked, looking at his office

"Didn't you wake him up?" Harmony asked

"No. I left him there, thinking he would get up on his own, but he hasn't yet"

Cordelia started towards her husband's office when Eve suddenly appeared before her

"Hi. I've got a little something for you"

She held out a small lump of rock that looked like had runes carved in it

"Wesley's office is just over there," Cordelia said, "I'm not interested

"Wesley is busy right now," Eve said, "And the Senior Partners want this done now"

"Why? What's so special about it?"

"Don't know. That's why the Partners asked me to ask you"

Cordelia cocked an eyebrow at Eve, who smiled sweetly at her. Sighing, Cordelia walked away with the rock, as Eve continued smiling and walked away

††††††††††

"Wow, nice place," Nina said

"Thanks," Connor smiled, "Come on in. it used to belong to my mom"

Nina stepped inside the apartment, as Connor shut the door behind her and headed into the kitchen to make some drinks. Thanks to help from Dennis, he had them quickly made and joined Nina out in the living room

"It's big," Nina said, "You live here all by yourself?"

"Sometimes my little sister stays over," Connor said, "So, shall we get started?"

Not long after Angel had taken over Wolfram and Hart, Connor had expressed a desire to move out of home, deciding it would help with his previous mental state. Angel had pulled some strings and managed to secure Cordelia's old apartment for his son. Connor loved the apartment, while Dennis liked his new housemate. And to top it off, Connor didn't have to worry about paying rent

"Yes, might as well," Nina said, "Algebra and arithmetic do not go hand in hand with me. But how do you know all this stuff?"

"My aunt is a scientist," Connor replied, "She's a physicist. Well, she's not really my aunt, but she's a friend of my parents ever since I was a baby"

"Yeah, your parents look so young. Well, of course your dad does, since he's a vampire and all, but what does your mom use to look so young?" Nina asked

"You want to know the truth? She's actually twenty-three. Seriously"

Nina's jaw dropped, as Connor chuckled to himself

"But you're like, what, seventeen, yeah? What gives?"

"I was raised in a hell dimension where time passed differently. See, I was kidnapped as a baby and was sent to Quor-Toth. When I turned sixteen, I came back here and only about a week had passed"

"Whoa, what's Quor-Toth like?"

"I'll tell you more later. First, let's get this out of the way," Connor suggested

"Sounds good. If I fail this test, I'm so grounded"

"Well, we can't have that happening now, can we?"

††††††††††

Spike was sitting at the strip club, a glass of scotch in hand as he watched the show. It had been a week since he became corporeal again and following his victory over Angel, Spike booked a boat passage to go to Europe so he could be with Buffy. But upon reaching the docks, Spike had an epiphany, deciding that he didn't wanted to cheapen his death. In Buffy's eyes, he had gone out as a hero and he wanted to keep it that way. Even though he yearned to be by her side again, Spike believed it was best to leave things as they were. So here he was, at a strip club, drowning his sorrows. At least until someone put a drink on the table. Spike looked up at the young man. He had shoulder-length brown hair, brown eyes and a five o'clock shadow. A small scar was visible on his upper lip, while the man was dressed in a white checked shirt and denims, with a large buckle and cowboy boots

"Sorry, mate, not interested," Spike said

"Is that how you talk to the person responsible for your resurrection?" Lindsey asked

"What the hell do you mean by that?"

"I'm the one who dug you up. I'm the one who made you solid again"

"And why the bloody hell would you do that? Who are you?"

"The name's Doyle. And I get visions from the Powers-That-Be. Of people in danger, in need of help. They need a Champion to help them"

"Sorry, mate, that's not me. There's another Champion around here. tell him"

"He works for Wolfram and Hart. But you're a vampire with a soul. You've sacrificed yourself for the world," Lindsey said, "That makes you a Champion"

"What's in it for me?" Spike asked

"The chance to be a hero and achieve the Shanshu"

"Right. What's in it for you?"

"Everyone's got something to atone for. I'm just doing my part. In fact, I had a vision just before I came here. help her out and we'll talk a little more"

Lindsey handed Spike a small piece of paper, before walking off. Spike frowned at his retreating back, then open the paper and read it, before making his decision

††††††††††

_"Angel, how you feeling?"_

_Angel opened his eyes, seeing he was still in bed. Fred was standing at the end of his bed, wearing her lab coat and a sweet smile on her face_

"_You haven't been feeling well, have you?" Fred asked_

"_Actually, I, uh," Angel started_

"_Don't worry, we're gonna take a look inside"_

"_Inside where?"_

_Angel started to get worried as Fred put on a pair of hygienic gloves, then grabbed a tray full of instruments. Undoing Angel's shirt, she then grabbed a scalpel and cut his chest open. Angel gasped in pain as Fred shoved his ribs aside_

"_Ooh, what have we got here?" Fred smiled_

_Angel could only watch as Fred removed a long beaded necklace, looping it around her own neck a few times, before digging around in his torso again, this time pulling out a small handful of almonds and eating them. Digging around again, Fred pulled out a fishbowl containing one dead fish_

"_And here is your soul," Fred cried, "Looking a little sad. Here, take this"_

_She handed the fishbowl to a grizzly bear, then returned to Angel's torso, pulling out a small walnut_

"_Wow, your heart really is a dried-up walnut"_

_Tossing it aside, Fred peered into Angel's torso, finding nothing else of interest_

Angel opened his eyes, taking in several deep breaths, before crying out in pain, closing his eyes and drifting back into the dream world

††††††††††

"Hey there girlie," the vampire grinned

The woman backed up, unsure of what to do, as the vampire edged closer

"I don't think the lady's interested"

The vampire whirled around, seeing Spike swagger towards him. The blond vampire had his thumb hooked in his belt, as the younger vampire growled and stalked towards him, then swung his fist. Spike blocked and punched the vampire, before slamming his head through the wooden railings. Grabbing hold of the vampire, Spike then shoved him back onto a sharp edge, turning him to dust

"Thank you! Thank you! That thing was going to kill me!" the woman cried

Well, what did you expect? Out alone in this neighbourhood - I've got half a mind to kill you myself, you half-wit," Spike retorted

"What?"

"I mean honestly, what kind of retard wears heels like that in a dark alley? Take two steps and break your bloody ankle"

"I was just trying to get home," the woman said in an annoyed voice

"Well, get a cab, you moron, and on the way, if a stranger offers you candy, don't get in the van!" Spike cried after her retreating back

"You know, you could be a little bit nicer," Lindsey said, appearing behind Spike

"Yeah, well, that woman is a bloody idiot. Got any more visions running around?"

††††††††††


	10. In A Dream World

††††††††††

The vampire growled, just as a fist crashed into his face. He reeled back, as Spike followed up with another punch, before kicking the vampire behind him. The first vampire punched Spike, as the second vampire shoved him to the ground. The couple were standing near the wall, watching in fear as Spike flipped up onto his feet, kicking the first vampire. The second vampire leapt onto the car roof, aiming to get leverage, but Spike kicked his legs out from underneath him, then turning back to the first vampire, just as he swung his fist. Ducking, Spike dropped to the ground, sweeping his legs out from underneath him, then stood up, checking the vampires. They both growled and got to their feet, before charging at Spike from both sides. Flicking his wrists behind his back, Spike brought his arms out to his sides, staking both vampires at once. Grinning at the retractable stakes, Spike waved to the couple, before heading off into the night

††††††††††

_"What's going on here?" Angel asked, walking into the dark room_

"_Shh, the Apocalypse is just starting," Gunn replied, eating popcorn_

_Angel turned towards the window, seeing the buildings outside on fire, while the sky was completely dark. He turned back to the others, seeing that they were all seated, eating popcorn like they were in a cinema_

"_I have to get out there," Angel said, "I have to help people"_

"_Oh don't worry, Spike's out there," Cordelia said, "He's saving the day"_

"_Angelcakes, reckon you could get out of the way, please?" Lorne asked, "You're blocking the view. Also, you know you've got something on you?"_

_Angel looked down at himself, seeing something small, squishy and blue attached to his torso. He touched it, feeling a surge of pain coursing through his body. Once again, everything changed. He was back in bed, still in his pyjamas, as a stage light appeared on him_

"_Gonna sing us a tune, Angelwings?" came a southern voice_

_Angel looked to his right, seeing Lorne sitting at a piano. He was dressed up as an old western piano player, complete with a large moustache and suspenders, while Harmony stood nearby, dressed as a Copacabana woman_

"_Lorne?" Angel questioned_

"_Oh ho, call me Honky Tonk," Lorne replied, "So, gonna sing something for us? Come on, the crowd is getting restless"_

_Angel looked to the end of his bed, seeing Wesley, Connor, Gunn, Cordelia and Fred all seated around a small table, like they were all in a booth_

"_Sing for us, Dad," Connor called, "Come on"_

"_This is quite boring," Wesley said, "Boo?"_

"_What's wrong with you, Angel?" Cordelia asked, "Before, we couldn't get you to stop singing. Now you won't?"_

_Gunn's eyes became cat-like and he hissed at Angel_

"_By the way," Lorne said, "You know you've got something on you?"_

Angel groaned as he thrashed in bed, finally opening his eyes, seeing the object on his torso. Angrily, Angel grabbed the parasite, ignoring its squealing, before crushing it in his hand. Dropping the body, Angel looked up, seeing Eve at the end of his bed, holding a box, as she slowly opened it. Still weak from the parasite, Angel could only watch as a larger parasite leapt out of the box, attaching itself to him, injecting the toxin into his bloodstream and Angel passed out again

††††††††††

"Hm, nice place," Spike said, looking around

He and Lindsey were in a comfy, one-bedroom apartment. The walls had been painted blue, as a small lounge rested against one wall, facing the TV stand

"Got TV, cable and X-Box for you," Lindsey said, "Also, got beer in here"

"And you managed to dig this up? all for me?" Spike asked

"Wasn't that hard. Just had to contact a few friends"

"Wouldn't mind meeting these friends of yours"

"Another time, I suppose," Lindsey said, "Well, I hope you enjoy your new home"

"Suppose it's comfy. It'll have to do," Spike said

He sat down on the couch, as Lindsey opened the fridge, reaching in for a beer. However, he then stopped and groaned in pain, clutching his forehead, as Spike rolled his eyes. He had wanted to try out the X-Box. Guess it'll have to wait until later

"Let me guess, another one of your visions? Don't tell me I gotta jump up and get going every time you get one of those?"

"Oh, I think you might like this one," Lindsey groaned

††††††††††

_Angel opened his eyes, greeting the sunlight. However, he didn't try to shy away from it. He enjoyed it. He embraced it. Looking around, Angel saw he was sitting in a comfy armchair out in the middle of nowhere, the sun beaming down upon him_

"_You don't have to go"_

_Angel looked to his right, seeing Cordelia walking towards him. She was wearing a dress and with the sun shining behind her, she looked like a goddess. But she wasn't alone. Wesley, Gunn, Connor and Fred joined the couple, as Ashleigh appeared, climbing up onto her father's lap_

"_I don't have to go?" Angel repeated_

"_You can stay here," Wesley replied, "With us. Forever"_

_Angel liked the sound of that. It was very appealing to him. Staying out in the sun in a beautiful field with his beautiful wife, children and friends_

"_So, I can stay here, with you?" Angel asked Cordelia_

_She smiled her 100-watt smile and nodded_

"_It'll be great, Dad," Connor said, "We can hang out together in the sun all day"_

_Cordelia was about to say something, but she threw her head back and let out a high-pitched, blood-curling scream. Fred, Connor, Gunn, Wesley and Ashleigh all followed suit, metaphorically screaming their lungs out, as Angel felt pain…_

He fell to the floor, gasping in pain, checking his torso and finding that the parasite wasn't there. Someone else had found him and removed the parasite

"Nasty little bugger," Spike said, throwing the parasite against the wall, killing it, "No need to thank me. Just helping the helpless"

He left the room, leaving Angel lying on the floor

††††††††††

"Angel, you're up and about," Eve cried, "Good to see. We were just won-"

"Can it, Eve, I don't care what you've got to say," Angel snapped

"Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this afternoon," Cordelia noted

Angel dropped the dead parasite on Wesley's desk, causing him to frown

"Uh, Angel? Why do you have a Selminth parasite? A dead one too"

"What's a Selminth parasite?" Fred asked

"Its teeth inject an anaesthetic, making the host oblivious to its presence. You'd never know you had it on you. Pumps neurotoxins into the body causing paralysis, hallucinations, fever dreams"

"It seemed so real. All of it," Angel said, drinking a glass of blood

"Well, what did you see?" Cordelia asked

"Lorne called himself Honky Tonk, Fred dissected me and Gunn's a heckler"

"Uh, sorry?" Gunn said

"Wes, what would've happened if the parasite was there for longer?" Angel asked

"You would have ended up in a permanent vegetative state," Wesley replied

"Well, good thing Spike saved the day," Lorne said, "How'd he know?"

"More importantly, how did that thing get in here?" Fred asked

"It was you," Angel said to Eve, "You were there"

"I was in your dreams?" Eve asked, "How sweet"

"You changed your clothes, but you didn't change your earrings. And I haven't seen you for days"

"Yeah, I haven't seen those earrings before today either," Cordelia said

"So, you're upset and you're taking it out on someone who's not part of the inner circle," Eve said

"I don't think the Senior Partners would give me this place just to turn me into a vegetable. Running your own little game, Eve?" Angel asked

"Well, instead of looking outwards, maybe you should look inwards"

Eve smiled sweetly and left the office, as Angel glared at her retreating back, everyone else all shooting the liaison suspicious looks

††††††††††


	11. Mental Patient Breakout

††††††††††

"Doctor, we've got a problem here!" the nurse cried

Doctor Rabinraw followed the nurse's voice, joining her outside an open and currently empty room. He groaned when he realized who had just escaped

"I take it she didn't get her medicine?"

"No, it seems like she was given the wrong one. The intern mixed it up"

"Then we better get out of here. Quickly!"

Rabinraw and the nurse quickly left the room, racing back towards the secure offices, just as a guard went flying out of the corridor behind them. They reached the gates, as the guard shut the door behind them. At that moment, she appeared, her hair a tangled mess and her eyes gleaming with the look of a killer

"Dana, please listen to me," Rabinraw said, unable to help the fear in his voice

Dana ignored him, as she reached the door and easily tore it off its hinges. The two guards went for her, but within a matter of seconds, they were lying against opposite walls, one nursing a broken arm, the other unconscious. Rabinraw backed away, as Dana glared at him, before making her way out of the mental institution

††††††††††

_One hour later…_

The doors opened up on both elevators, as Angel and Spike stepped out. Spike caught sight of his grandsire and snickered, catching Angel's attention

"So, that bug really scrambled you up, huh? Checking yourself in here?"

"What are you doing here, Spike?" Angel asked

"Same thing as you. Heard about the bird escaping from here, so I'm doing the champion duty and helping the helpless"

Angel sighed and headed to the front counter, seeing Rabinraw there

"Hi, I'm from Wolfram and Hart. I'm here about the escaped loony"

"A lawyer? I already told the police everything I know," Rabinraw said

" Well, let's go over it again, just in case you left out any details"

"What he said. But with a bit more of a threat at the end," Spike added

"Dana was a special case. When she was ten, someone broke in her house and killed her family, before kidnapping the child and submitting her to torture for a number of weeks. She was found wandering the streets, naked and broken, driven crazy by what she had seen. She had been getting better, until…"

"Until what?" Angel asked

"Six months ago, Dana's condition changed"

By now, Spike had gotten bored with the talking

"Alright, I'm gonna go find this bint and bring her back. You lot have fun"

"Spike," Angel started, but Spike had already left

"This way," Rabinraw said

Angel followed the doctor to Dana's room, seeing that the walls were all covered in drawings, all looking like they had been done by a child. And all the drawings had a recurring theme: a young girl battling some kind of monster

"Dana became a lot more violent and her ramblings became more incoherent"

Rabinraw then led Angel to another room, sliding a videotape into the machine. The video started playing, showing Dana sitting on a chair, rambling angrily in some kind of language. It was the same for the next video and the one after that, all of her speaking gibberish. Until one video caught Angel's attention

"She's speaking in Romanian," Angel whispered, "Oh God"

††††††††††

Spike had managed to follow Dana's scent to a nearby convenience store, where a small crowd had covered around the police and ambulance. The scent of blood hung in the air, as the paramedics brought out a covered body on a stretcher, blood staining the fabric. Slipping past the police, Spike found a droplet of blood and breathed in the scent, locking it in, before slipping unnoticed from the site, making his way to an abandoned building. Creeping up slowly and silently, Spike found Dana huddled near the window, muttering to herself

"So, this is where you're hiding, huh?" Spike asked

Dana whirled around, now dressed in normal clothes, while the blood of her kill was painted in three stripes down her face

"Maybe we should talk about possessing innocent little girls," Spike said, before vamping out, "Demon to demon"

As soon as his face changed, Dana's scared look also changed, her eyes becoming bloodthirsty, as a sadistic grin appeared on her face

"What are you smiling at?" Spike asked

"Head and heart"

Dana screamed and lunged at Spike. He struck her in the face, followed by a second blow, as Dana blocked his arm and slugged him in the face, followed a kick to his stomach. Spike stumbled back, ducking under Dana's fist and moving behind her. She whirled around with a kick to his chest, before punching him in the face. Spike blocked her second punch and struck her, then grabbed her by the back of her head and slammed her face into a wooden post. Dana elbowed Spike in the jaw, before throwing him onto a crate and grabbing a piece of sharp wood. She rammed it at Spike's heart, but he caught her wrist, trying to hold her off, as Dana rambled angrily at him in a different language

"Sorry, love, I don't speak Chinese," Spike replied

Shoving her hands aside, Spike kicked her back, before rising up and punching her in the face. As Dana stumbled back, Spike lunged, hitting her with a leaping punch, then a backhand, as Dana kicked him in the stomach. Growling, Spike moved in for a roundhouse kick, but Dana ducked, grabbing him by the back of his duster and throwing him out of the window, sending him plummeting down five stories onto the road below, just as a car pulled up before him

"Spike, what are you doing?" Angel demanded

"Wondered if I could bounce off the bitumen," Spike retorted, getting up, "Pretty much what I expected. I figured it out. It's some kind of Chinese water dragon"

Angel glared at Spike, before sighing in frustration

††††††††††

"A psychotic Slayer," Spike said as they walked through the hallways

"How many times are you gonna keep saying that?" Angel asked

"Just trying to get my head around it. A psychotic Slayer"

Angel and Spike entered the office, where everyone was seated. However, as Angel moved to the head of the table, Spike froze when he saw a familiar voice

"Oh bollocks"

"Spike, is that really you?" Andrew Wells cried

His appearance had changed from the last time Spike remembered him. Now sporting longish brown hair, Andrew was dressed in a suit with a large overcoat, as he got out of the chair and headed to Spike, pulling him into a hug. However, Spike didn't return the gesture, standing there as Andrew placed his hands on his cheeks

"Spike? It's you. It's really you! My therapist thought I was holding onto false hope, but... I knew you'd come back," Andrew said, before releasing Spike from the hug, "You're like… you're like Gandalf the White, resurrected from the pit of the Balrog" "You two know each other?" Angel smirked

"Uh, yeah. Um… We—we saved the world together. I mean, Buffy helped, but… it was mostly us," Andrew said, facing the group, "So, we all know why we're here?"

"Because some loony escaped from the mental bin?" Cordelia asked boredly, "And now she's out there, killing people"

"Well, let me tell you a story. Six months ago, Buffy the vampire slayer extraordinaire had her lesbian friend cast a spell that spread the power of the Slayer, therefore transforming a lot of girls into Slayers"

"Creating one massive Slayer army," Wesley said, "Ingenious plan. Now the power is spread all over the world, combating the forces of darkness"

"Explains why that bird was talking to me in Chinese," Spike said, "She was channelling that Slayer I killed in the Boxer Rebellion"

"You mean the one you murdered?" Angel asked

"I didn't have a soul then"

"Boys, we should work on finding Dana and bringing her back here for treatment," Fred said, "Not arguing over who killed whom"

"Well, I'll leave all that to you guys," Spike said, "I've got a Slayer to find"

He gave the group a wave, before leaving the room, as Angel followed him

"Spike. We should wait and figure out a plan. This Slayer had lost it, alright. Confronting her is not a good idea, especially for us two. We're the enemy"

"I've killed two Slayers before, I think I can handle one that's daft," Spike retorted

"Spike"

"What do you want me to do? Go all boo-hoo cause she got tortured and driven out of her gourd? Not like we haven't done worse back in the day"

"Yeah, and it's something I'm still paying for"

"And you should let it go, mate. It's starting to make you look old"

Spike smirked and walked away, as Angel watched him go

††††††††††


	12. Double Crossed

††††††††††

"You know, it's not nice to sneak up on people," Spike said

He then growled and reached into the darkness, yanking Andrew out

"What the hell are you doing out here, Andrew?"

"Your senses are excellent. I'm here to help you bring Dana in"

"Go back to the office. I'll bring her in"

Spike continued along the trail, as Andrew followed after him, the pair walking in silence together, until Spike decided to ask what he wanted to know about

"So, how's everyone?"

"They're all good. Mr Giles is in England. Xander's in Africa. Willow and Kennedy are in Brazil, but they seem to be in Rio de Janeiro every time I call them. Buffy's in Rome. Dawn goes to school there"

Spike nodded to himself, before stopping. He sniffed the air and took off, with Andrew in pursuit. However, Andrew soon fell over and when Spike turned around, he saw that Andrew had fallen over a corpse. Sniffing the air, Spike took off, as Andrew quickly got over his screaming fit and followed after Spike, entering a small dead-end. Dana dropped down, knocking Spike forward, before kicking Andrew in the chest. Spike whirled around with a backhand, but Dana caught his arm, as his other fist crashed into her face. Dana kicked Spike in the stomach and punched him in the face, as Spike whirled around from the blow, kicking Dana, then threw his fist, but she caught it and flipped him onto his back, as Andrew aimed his tranquilliser gun. Dana was faster, kicking the gun out of his hand, then punching Andrew, before racing off. Spike got to his feet and gave chase, following Dana into another alley, chasing the scent through a secret door and entering a basement

"Head and heart," Dana said, "Keep cutting until you see dust"

"That's Slayer talk, right?" Spike asked, "So, you've got all the memories running through your head, but hey, sounds like you're past midnight on the crazy clock"

"Please, let me go. Let me go to my Robin"

"Oh, you're talking about Nikki, the Slayer I – you don't wanna know about that"

"William the Bloody," Dana said, menace creeping into her voice

"No, that's going nowhere good," Spike said

Dana went to make a run for it, as Spike lunged at her, but she spun around him, stabbing a syringe into his neck and injecting the yellow liquid into his body. Spike cried out, stumbling back, before collapsing on the ground, as Dana stood over him, removing his duster, then dragging him to a set of pipes

"What the – what did you hit me with – you crazy bint," Spike groaned

The last thing he saw before passing out was Dana tying him up with chains

††††††††††

"Wes, how's things coming along with the research on Dana?" Angel asked

"It's a bit hard trying to gather everything we can on her, but we're managing"

Just then, Andrew burst into the office, looking out of breath

"She's got him. She's got Spike"

"What do you mean?" Fred asked

"We were following Dana and she managed to capture Spike," Andrew said

"Do you know where she went?" Angel asked

Andrew shook his head

"He's in great danger. We have to find him!"

††††††††††

"Can't touch me anymore," Dana said

Spike groaned groggily and slowly opened his eyes. The effects of the drug were wearing off, but as it was, Spike couldn't help but feel there was something wrong with his arms. He couldn't move his fingers at all

"What have you done-?" Spike asked

"Can't touch me anymore," Dana continued

Spike groaned, lifting his arms to see what was wrong with them and if he had breath, it would have gotten caught in his throat: his arms had been severed from below the elbow. Crying out in shock, Spike saw his arms sitting on a workbench

"You killed papa, you killed mama, but you won't kill me," Dana said

"What are you on about – you daft bint?" Spike choked

"You did it. You hurt them. You killed them! You won't hurt me anymore"

"I never killed…I never killed your family"

"Don't lie to me"

Dana struck Spike in the face, followed by another blow, then a third and finally a fourth. Spike gasped, tasting his blood, shock settling in his body over the loss of his arms. Dana headed to the workbench, picking up the bloodied saw, before returning to Spike and raising it above his head

"You won't hurt me anymore. Head and heart. Keep cutting until you see dust"

Dana was about to bring the saw down, when someone grabbed her wrist, taking the saw from her hand, then kicking her in the stomach, knocking her away from Spike

"Dana, listen to me," Angel said, "We can help you"

"Head and heart. Can't hurt me anymore"

"We know what happened. That man who hurt you, who killed your family, he's dead. He was killed five years ago trying to rob a liqueur store. He's dead. He can't hurt you anymore. Nobody's gonna hurt you, Dana"

"Head and heart," Dana said, clenching her fists, "Slayer. Strong!"

She lashed out, striking Angel on the jaw, her other fist coming around and slamming into Angel's cheek. He flew back, smashing through a table, as Dana stormed over, picking him up and punching him. Angel swung his fist, but Dana blocked, as he kicked her in the stomach, before landing a left hook on her jaw. In a rage, Dana punched Angel in the face, as he spun around and backhanded her, before doing a spinning kick to her chest. Dana stumbled back, grabbing a knife from the bench and slashed at Angel, but he caught her wrist and elbowed her in the ribs, before twisting her arm and forcing her to drop the knife. Dana retaliated by punching Angel in the face, then kicking him, before swinging her fist again, but Angel lunged, grabbing her wrist and spinning inwards, elbowing her in the stomach, before whirling around and backhanding, then ducking under her arm and grabbing her in a half-nelson hold

"Now!"

Three tranquilliser darts were shot into Dana's torso, rendering her unconscious, as Wesley and the SWAT moved in, securing the area. Two paramedics unchained Spike and eased him onto a stretcher, as his arms were placed into a cooler. Fred was beside Spike as he was wheeled into the ambulance and taken away

"I want her tight and secured," Angel said, as Dana was restrained to a stretcher, "Then we will figure out what to do with her"

"That's all right, boys. I'll take it from here," Andrew said, arriving at the scene, "Totally 'preciate your help on this one, big guy. Never could've found her without you, but you got enough problems of your own to worry about"

"Get outta the way, Andrew," Angel growled

"She's a slayer. That means she's ours"

"Yeah. Sorry. Not how it works"

Angel started to talk to the guards, but then Andrew stood right up close to him

"No. I don't think you… heard me, Angel"

A group of young women walked out from the shadows, all standing behind Andrew. Angel recognised them all as Slayers, as Andrew continued

"Think we're just gonna let you take her back to your evil stronghold? Well, as they say in Mexico… No. We're not… gonna… let you"

"She's psychotic, and I'm not turning her over… to you"

"You don't have a choice. Check the view screen, Uhura. I got twelve Vampyr Slayers behind me, and not one of them has ever dated you. She's coming with us one way or another"

"You're way outta your league. I'll just clear this with Buffy"

"Where do you think my orders came from? News flash —nobody in our camp trusts you anymore. Nobody. You work for Wolfram & Hart. Don't fool yourself. We're not on the same side. Thank you for your help… but, uh… we got it"

Two Slayers grabbed the restrained Dana and headed off with her, as Andrew gave Angel a grim smile and left the Slayers, as Angel glared at their retreating backs

"Come on, Wes, you heard him. We have enough problems right now"

††††††††††

_Three hours later…_

Cordelia and Connor looked up when Angel walked into the room. Spike opened his eyes, seeing his grandsire standing in the doorway. His arms had been successfully reattached and now he was recovering from the surgery

"Come to tap dance on the patient have we Doc? I'd give you the finger but apparently I won't have the motor skills till the drugs wear off"

"We'll leave you to it," Cordelia said

She stood up and kissed Angel on the cheek, before leaving with Connor

"A lot of pain?" Angel asked

"More than I'd like. But not as much as you would. Just what I deserve," Spike said

"I didn't say that"

"No. I did. For a demon… I never did think that much about the nature of evil. No. Just threw myself in. Thought it was a party. I liked the rush. I liked the crunch. Never did look back at the victims"

"I couldn't take my eyes off them. I was only in it for the evil. It was everything to me. It was art. The destruction of a human being. Geez, I would've considered Dana a masterpiece"

"What happens to her?"

"I don't know. Andrew and the slayers took her. Didn't trust us to help her"

"Andrew double-crossed us?" Spike asked in surprise, "That's a good move. Hope for the little ponce yet. Though the tingling in my forearms tells me she's too far gone to help. She's… one of us now. She's a monster"

"She's an innocent victim," Angel said

"So were we, once upon a time"

"Once upon a time"

††††††††††


	13. Resigning CEO

††††††††††

The door burst off its hinges, as Angel, Cordelia, Gunn, Wesley and Fred stepped inside the small and dark room. Fred was holding a frequency device, scanning the room, until she stopped beside Wesley and saw what they were all staring at

"Oh my God," she whispered

"I think God is out at the moment," Wesley said

They had broken into a small covenant and discovered five dead nuns

"It was a racketeering charge," Gunn said, "I told him we'd get him off-"

"This wasn't random, it was ritual," Wesley commented, "Not surprisingly, our client practises the dark arts. He's jumped dimensions"

"Great, because instead of killing evil, we vouch for it," Angel growled, "Okay, fine, that's it, I've had enough"

"Angel-" Cordelia started

"No, I'm serious. I've had enough of this, of Wolfram and Hart. I quit"

Then, Angel turned his back and left the covenant

††††††††††

_The next day…_

"What is there to discuss?" Angel asked, "I'm resigning"

"Gee, seems ripe for discussion," Lorne commented

"Angel, it's not gonna be easy," Gunn said, "You can't just walk up to them and say 'I quit'. Could you imagine the consequences and the legal ramifications?"

"Gunn, is it that you think they won't let us go or you just don't want to?"

"Look, I enjoy what we do and I think we made the right choice"

"And that legal upgrade has nothing to do with it?"

"We all got something out of this"

Angel glared at Gunn, before staring out the window. Everyone else stood around, unsure what to say next, until Cordelia stood up from the couch

"Okay, how about you all go back to work and I'll talk to Angel?"

"Very well then," Wesley said

He got up from the couch and left the room with Lorne, Gunn and Fred, as Cordelia closed the door behind them, before turning back to her husband

"Okay, we need to talk"

"About what?"

"Gee, I don't know, how about everything? Since we took over Wolfram and Hart, you've been getting distance. All day long, you're cooped up in here, worrying about court cases, instead of fighting evil"

"Hey, Spike's the champion now," Angel said, "He's doing what needs to be done"

"Why did you agree to taking over Wolfram and Hart? Honestly?" Cordelia asked

"The deal was, I accept the job, they bring you out of your coma. Win-win scenario. They get me, but I get to have you by my side. We both know that you're the one who's kept me out of the darkness over the years, ignoring the descent I had three years ago, but you're the only one who's kept me sane. And that's what I need here"

"Well, it seems to be not working, cause you're falling deeper into the darkness. I can tell. You're in the belly of the beast and it's devouring you. You've lost your way"

"What way?"

"The champion I know. The man who fight for good, no matter what. The man I love"

Angel continued glaring out the window, arms crossed over his chest, as Cordelia sighed

"I had a vision last night"

"A vision? You haven't had one since we started working here. Why's that?"

"Probably because we're working for the evil side. Yeah, that might be it"

"Well, what was in your vision?"

"You, in pain. Also, these weird symbols, like tattoos. On walls and on flesh. Also, Eve is behind you"

"Eve was in the vision?"

"No, lunkhead, right now"

"Hope you didn't mind me using your elevator," Eve beamed

"I mind you breathing," Angel growled, "What are you doing here?"

"We're out ten million in bail costs. Is that any way to run a business?"

"Eve. Get out"

Eve smiled and left the room, as Angel turned back to Cordelia

"So, I'm guessing someone's coming for me. You don't know who, do you?"

"No, but Angel, be careful, okay"

Cordelia kissed him on the cheek, before leaving the office

††††††††††

"Suffer my wrath, barrel-throwing gorilla," Spike said, playing his X-Box, "You know, you shouldn't enter uninvited. Especially if the person has no qualms about killing strangers"

"Is that how you treat your benefactor?" Lindsey asked, before dropping down on the couch beside Spike, "You haven't been out on the streets lately"

"I'm still recovering from having my hands hacked off by that deranged Slayer _you_ sent me after. Working out the digits"

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," Lindsey said, "But if it helps, I once had my hand cut off. You know, in the line of duty. So believe me when I say I know your pain"

"Half of it anyway," Spike said, grabbing himself a beer

At that moment, Lindsey's cell phone rang and he got up to answer it

"What?"

"It's Cordelia," Eve said on the other line, "She had a vision. About you"

"Don't worry, babe, I think I've got a plan"

"No, no, no, you stupid plumber!" Spike growled

He lunged from the couch and started shaking the television, as if it was its fault for messing up his game. Lindsey smiled over his shoulder at the enraged vampire

"Definitely got a plan"

††††††††††

"God, I will never get used to this place," Cordelia sighed to herself

Since her talk with Angel, Cordelia had gone to her office and started working on the tattoos from her vision, before getting the answers from Wesley. Now that she had the symbols sorted out, she was on her way to pick up Ashleigh from day-care, when she turned around and saw Spike walking towards her

"Spike, what are you doing here? Thought you were helping the helpless?"

Spike didn't answer her, as he vamped out. Before Cordelia could do anything, Spike shoved her against the wall and sank his fangs into her neck, but he removed them about a second later before she could scream. His vamp face was gone as he gave her a puzzled look, but it didn't last long, as he was soon flying through the air. Angel rolled onto his feet and slugged Spike in the face, as he grinned and kicked Angel in the stomach, then grabbed him in a headlock, as Cordelia held a hand to the bite mark

"Took me on and lost last time, old man," Spike said

"Touch Cordelia again," Angel said, before lifting Spike up, then slamming him onto the ground, "And get ready for our very last rematch!"

"She's evil, you gormless tit!"

"Excuse me, who bit whom?" Cordelia demanded

"Did you just call me a tit?" Angel growled

"I thought he had a soul," Cordelia continued

"I thought she didn't," Spike shot back

"I do"

"So do I"

"Well, clearly, mine's better!"

"Look-"

Before Spike could say any more, Angel slammed him against the wall

"I see fangs, I'm gonna play dentist"

Spike headbutted Angel and they both fell apart, holding their heads in pain

"It was a taste test, to see if what my source said was true"

"Spike, what are you on about?" Angel asked, "She's not evil. You've known her for the last six months and suddenly now you think she's evil?"

"Look, she's possessed and she's here to destroy you all. So says my source"

"The thing that possessed Cordy is long dead," Angel said

"Well, looks like Tattoo Boy was wrong this time," Spike said

"Wait, tattoos?" Cordelia asked

She checked the bite mark again, glad to feel that the injury had healed up completely and she thanked her demonic blood. Meanwhile, as Angel and Spike discussed the latter's source, Eve was hiding around the corner, watching them, while talking to Lindsey on her cell phone. He had managed to sneak into Wolfram and Hart, as the tattoos on his body rendered him invisible to all security measures, including video cameras, laster trip wires and even the Senior Partners

"Look, babe, I'm nearly done, so get out of there," Lindsey said

"Okay," Eve said

She hung up her phone, before looking up to see Angel, Cordelia and Spike before her

"A word, Eve?" Angel asked with a smirk

"I don't think-" Eve started

"Let's go, Lilah Junior," Cordelia said, grabbing Eve by the ear, twisting it and dragging her away

††††††††††


	14. The Return of Lindsey

††††††††††

"Sit down," Angel said, shoving Eve into a chair

He folded his arms and started pacing the room, walking past Gunn, Fred, Lorne and Wesley, while Spike was sitting on the windowsill

"A couple of weeks ago, a man approached Spike. Told him the Powers had some jobs for him," Angel said, "Brain trust that he is, Spike went along with it"

"Hey!"

"He was the one who told Spike about the parasite. The one you put on me"

"Not this again," Eve started, rising up from the chair

"Get out of the seat and I will personally feed you those Manolo Blahniks," Cordelia threatened, "Which are stunning, by the way"

"But the one thing that pisses me off the most is that this guy is going by the name of Doyle," Angel continued after Eve sat down

"Doesn't ring a bell," she said

"It does for me," Cordelia said, "It rings a big fricking gong!"

"You've got one chance, Eve," Angel said, "Where is he?"

"I don't know"

"Excuse me, boss," Harmony said, coming into the office

"Not now, Harm," Cordelia said

"Okay, but do I get the afternoon off too?"

"What do you mean?" Angel asked

"Everyone's gone. They cleared out minutes ago"

"Code Seven went out minutes ago," Gunn said about five minutes later, "Everyone's cleared the building"

"What's a Code Seven, Eve?" Angel asked

"I don't know," Eve replied

"Okay, we're running out of time," Cordelia said, "Angel, torture her"

"What? I can't just torture her"

At that moment, Eve was slammed onto the desk as Harmony pulled her up

"Is this okay, boss? I am evil"

"Okay then"

Harmony punched Eve, then backhanded her

"Okay, okay," Eve cried, "Code Seven was built by the Senior Partners. It's a failsafe designed to destroy you"

"If you were here with us, who started it up?" Angel asked, "Spike, I don't wanna go in blind. What can you tell me?"

"Yay-high, dresses like an urban cowboy," Spike said, "Had his hand cut off once"

"Oh god, it's him," Wesley said, "He's back"

"Who's back?" Fred asked

"Lindsey," Cordelia said, "Wolfram and Hart's former golden boy"

"Until he ran off to find himself," Angel said, "Should have stayed lost"

"Angel, you can't go down there by yourself"

"Gonna have to. Not going to risk anyone I care about"

"I'll go," Spike offered

"Okay," Angel replied, a little too quickly, "Get ready if it gets past me-"

"You mean, gets past us?" Cordelia asked

"Cordy-"

"Save it, Angel, I know my rights. And I wanna see a lawyer"

With a smile, Cordelia grabbed the katana off the wall and drew the sword. Within minutes, Angel, Cordelia and Spike had reached the lower levels, where green lasers crisscrossed at knee height across the room

"What do these do?" Spike asked

"Let's find out," Angel replied

He walked through the lasers, as sirens went off and zombies in combat gear stepped out of their housing units, before attacking the trio. Angel punched a zombie, before backhanding him, then kicking another zombie in the chest, as Spike caught a zombie's fist and ducked under his arm, driving his knee into the zombie's stomach, as Cordelia missed with a slash, but then elbowed the zombie in the face

"We don't have time for this," Angel said

"Go. I'll hold them off," Spike said

Angel and Cordelia raced off, as Spike grinned at the zombie surrounding him. One charged from the front, but Spike kicked him down, before throwing a zombie over his shoulder. In the meanwhile, Angel and Cordelia reached the lower level, entering a room with a large tank in the centre, just as Lindsey was starting to leave

"Hello, Lindsey," Angel said

"And the hero arrives, just on time. With a date too"

Angel crossed his arms and headed towards Lindsey

"Is this the part where I get all weak in the knees? Promise never to do it again?"

"You had your chance. Some people never change"

Angel threw a punch, but Lindsey caught his fist, struck him in the ribs, then tossed him through the air with surprising ease. Cordelia watched in shock as Angel got to his feet and she tossed him her katana. Lindsey smirked, drawing his pocketknife, then lowering it as a blue glow covered the tiny weapon, transforming it into a broadsword

"Shut it off," Angel said

"Say please," Lindsey retorted

"Wasn't talking to you"

"Oh right!" Cordelia cried, before racing off

As she reached the control panel, Angel and Lindsey started sword duelling. Lindsey slashed high, but Angel ducked and sliced at his stomach. Lindsey sucked his stomach in, before driving his knee into Angel's jaw, then blocking Angel's slash. Pushing back, Lindsey struck, before slugging Angel in the face, as Angel kicked him in the stomach, then slashed high. Lindsey ducked under the blade, whirling around and bringing his sword down against Angel's, as the vampire pushed him back, but Lindsey kicked him, performing a backflip that saw him landing on the tank. Angel glared, before leaping up and crossing blades in mid-air

"Isn't this great? A fight to the death?" Lindsey asked

"Seen your tough-act before, you squirt," Angel said, "First time we met, you put on a show, huffing and puffing that I couldn't touch your client"

"So you kicked him out a window"

"Good times"

Lindsey slashed, but Angel blocked, before ducking under the next slash and whirling around, as Lindsey slashed, but Angel blocked and kneed his wrist, knocking the sword out of his hand, at the same time that Lindsey disarmed Angel of the katana. Kicking Lindsey, Angel flipped off from the tank, landing on the ledge and catching the broadsword, just as Lindsey leapt up and crossed blades. They kept duelling, as Cordelia continued trying to stop the creature in the tank from being released. At that moment, however, Lindsey had disarmed Angel and stabbed him through the heart, before kicking him back onto the tank, then landing before him

"Who is this?" Lindsey mocked, throwing his shirt at Angel, "You used to have fire in your heart. Now you've just got that big sword. How does it feel, champ?"

"Could be worse, if it was made out of wood, you dumb-ass!"

Angel got to his feet, just as Cordelia removed the gem that powered the tank. Lindsey cried out in anger as the tank sank back into the ground. Lindsey swung his fist, but Angel blocked and punched him, before punching him again, then blocking another punch and striking him in the stomach, followed by a headbutt. Lindsey groaned and tried to grab Angel's shirt, but Angel knocked his hands away and knocked him to his knees

"Doesn't matter what you do or how bad you think you've become," Angel said, punching Lindsey again and again, "Cause you know what?" he said, lifting Lindsey up by his throat, "I'm Angel. I beat the bad guys"

He then threw Lindsey off the tank, as Cordelia joined him

"You think you've got it in you to kill me?" Lindsey asked

"Really don't have to," Angel replied

At that moment, thanks to the magic being performed by Wesley, all of Lindsey's tattoos started peeling away. Once they were gone, an angry portal opened up above Lindsey. He gave the couple a weak smile, before being sucked into the portal

††††††††††

"So, how do you feel?" Cordelia asked

It had been an hour since Angel's fight with Lindsey and everyone else had gone out to get a drink. Eve had been sent home, while Cordelia was with Angel in his office

"I feel good," Angel replied, "I mean, all I did was beat up a tiny Texan"

"You are a piece of work. You know how you're always trying to save everyone in the world. Did it ever occur to you that you're one of them?"

"No, it didn't. But whatever's coming, whatever Wolfram and Hart has planned next, I feel like we can beat it. I feel that we can do this"

"I know," Cordelia smiled

"You do?"

"I always did"

She beamed her 100-watt smile and Angel couldn't help but smile back

"You know, they're gonna be gone for a while," he said, raising his eyebrows

"So? It's not like we can do anything"

"You want to know what another part of the deal was? I accept the job if they anchor my soul, which they did. But I'm yet to give it a test run and now's our chance"

Cordelia looked towards the door, before sharing a smile with Angel. He grinned and leaned in, capturing her lips, as her arms went around his neck and he lifted her up, carrying her towards his private elevator

††††††††††


	15. Smile Time

††††††††††

"And then you do it like this," Wesley said

He demonstrated the move, as Fred copied him. For the last few weeks, Wesley and Fred had been training together, with the latter learning martial arts from the former. By now, Fred had shown she was quite an accomplished fighter, but there was another reason for why she was doing these lessons with Wesley: she was interested in him

"And that concludes our lesson for today," Wesley said

"You sure there isn't any more you want to show me?" Fred asked

At that moment, Spike and Connor walked into the training room

"I'm sure," Wesley said, "Spike. Connor," he said, before leaving with Fred

"Hey, Uncle Spike," Connor started

"Are you gonna call me that all the time?" Spike asked, getting into a stance

"Does it annoy you?"

"Nah, I'm cool with it. What do you want, kid?"

"Since Mom and Dad are busy with this place, reckon you could teach me to drive?"

"What the bloody hell for? You'll end up killing someone"

Connor shrugged

"Oh, I get it. To impress the girl, right? Alright, Connor, I'll teach you"

"Thanks"

††††††††††

"Hey, Angel, got something interesting for you," Cordelia said

She dropped the file on his desk, as he opened it, showing the photo of a young boy in a hospital bed with a large grin. The next photo was of a little girl, also in a hospital bed with a large grin on her face

"Something mystical?"

"Possibly. The incidents all happened between seven and seven-thirty a.m."

"Have you asked Lorne what shows are on at that time?"

"Yes and he says that a kids show called Smile Time is on at that time. He also says that it's the best children' show around. On second thoughts, I think Ashleigh likes watching that show"

"Well, until we get to the bottom of it, keep her away from the TV at that time"

"So, what do we do about it then?" Cordelia asked

"Well, I'll head out tonight and check the place out," Angel replied, "See what dangers there are. If there are none, we'll look somewhere else"

"Alright then. And Angel, be careful, okay?"

"I will be"

Cordelia smiled and blew her husband a kiss, before leaving, as Angel smiled to himself and continued on with his paperwork

††††††††††

"Alright, so that's the gear stick, that there is the clutch, brake and accelerator," Spike said, "Got it so far?"

"Yep," Connor replied, "Uh, why are we in the Charger?"

"Well, if we trash it, your dad's got another ten cars for us to play with. Except for the Viper. That's mine. Right, now show me how it's done"

Connor pushed the clutch in, before shifting the gearstick, then letting the clutch out, while lowering his foot on the accelerator. When the car stalled, he gave Spike a confused look. The blond vampire simply sighed and pointedly turned his eyes to the handbrake. Connor realized his mistake and took the handbrake off

"This is gonna be interesting," Spike muttered to himself

††††††††††

_Later that night…_

Angel was at the Smile Time studio, traversing through the hallways, trying to find anything that looked out of place that would cause the children's conditions. Entering another corridor, Angel saw a man pushing a trolley. To his surprise, the man walked right past him without so much as a glance. Frowning, but shrugging it off, Angel continued on, opening another door and coming into a large, dark room. A man was tied to a seat with a towel wrapped around his head. Angel approached the man, as he shouted out something unintelligible. Before he could do anything, Angel watched as a bright light appeared behind the man. It looked like a huge blue smile, as a flash of light flew from the mouth, slamming into Angel and throwing him across the room into a pile of boxes, as the mouth closed up. Groaning, Angel shoved his way out of the boxes, before catching sight of his hands: they were made of felt!

††††††††††

_The next day…_

"Science Department," Fred said

"Fred, there's something mystical going on with the kids," came Angel's voice

"Yes, I agree with you too. I've been doing research on this and there is something definitely mystical happening here, though I'm not too sure what exactly, but I think with some more research, I might have an answer by the end of the day"

"Fred! It _is_ mystical!" Angel cried, "Meet me in my office"

Fred frowned, as Angel hung up. Confused, she left the laboratory and headed to his office, joining Lorne, Wesley and Gunn, before catching sight of Angel in his chair, surprised to see a puppet version of Angel sitting there instead

"Angel, what happened?" Fred asked

"I went down to Smile Time and this is what happened to me," Puppet Angel said

"Well, whatever is going on has to do with Smile Time," Wesley said

"I'll head down there and try to figure something out," Gunn offered

"I'll come with," Lorne said

"Oh, Angel, you look so cute, with your little hands," Fred grinned

"Hey, you're fired," Angel growled

The smile instantly disappeared, as Angel grumbled under his breath

"Oh and guys, don't tell Cordy, okay? Please?"

"Sure," Wesley replied, before leaving with the others

Angel sighed, as the office door opened and Cordelia walked in with Ashleigh. Gasping, Angel quickly ducked under his desk, but in doing so, he alerted Cordelia

"Angel? Are you hiding under your desk?" Cordelia asked

"Um, yes"

"Okay, what happened? Why don't you want to see me?"

"Because I'm under my desk"

Cordelia sighed, setting Ashleigh down, before marching over to the desk and reaching under, surprised when she easily yanked Angel out. She was even more surprised to see that he was now a felt puppet

"Angel, what happened to you?"

"I didn't want you to see me like this"

Cordelia ran her hand through his hair, before touching his cheek, utterly surprised that her husband was now a puppet. She looked over at her daughter, who was looking shyly at her father

"Come on, it's still Daddy," Cordelia said

"Come here, Ash. Daddy's all cuddly now," Angel added

Ashleigh nervously walked over to the desk, as Cordelia picked her up into her lap. Angel patted Ashleigh on the cheek, as she touched his face, then wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. Angel cried out, before hugging his daughter

"His hair tickles," Ashleigh giggled

"That's my little girl," Angel said, pulling back

"How long is this going to last for?" Cordelia asked

Before Angel could reply, the office door swung open and Spike walked in

"Hey, old man, need a new car. Last one ended up in the drink"

He stopped as he caught sight of Angel

"Angel, look at you"

"Spike, just turn around and walk away," Angel said

"You're a-"

"SPIKE!"

"YOU'RE A BLOODY PUPPET!"

††††††††††


	16. Ass Kicking Puppet

††††††††††

Connor was on his way to his father's office, wondering how he was going to explain the Charger's position in the ocean. Hopefully, Spike might not have said anything about it just yet. Connor wanted to be the one to tell Angel about. He was near the office when suddenly…

CRASH!!

The office doors flew off their hinges, as Spike came flying out of the office. However, he wasn't the only one, as he was busy wrestling with something about hip-high, seemed to made out of felt and was dressed in his father's clothes. Then Connor realized that it was actually a puppet version of his father

"Hehe, wee little puppet man," Spike grinned, before getting punched twice, "Hey! That's enough"

He threw Angel off as he landed on his feet

"Angel, what happened to you?" Spike asked, "You look ridiculous"

"Oh my God, Angel, you're a-" Harmony started

"Shut up!" Angel growled, before looking around at the employees staring at him, "Well, what are you all looking at?"

"They're looking at the wee little puppet man," Spike answered

Angel growled and lunged at Spike, clamping his mouth on Spike's forearm. The peroxide vampire growled and slammed Angel against the wall, but the puppet held on, as they carried their fight into the elevator, as the doors closed and everyone could hear the sounds of Angel and Spike growling and fighting

"Stupid, limey piece of crap!" came Angel's voice

The elevator doors dinged open, as Angel walked out, brushing his clothes off, while Spike was sitting in the corner of the elevator, sporting a sore nose

"Yes, I'm a puppet. Doesn't mean you don't have work to do," Angel growled to the employees

They huddled off, as Spike exited the elevator

"Harmony, get my call list. And Spike needs a new car," Angel said as he walked away

"You heard the puppet," Spike said to Harmony

Watching his father walk away, Connor decided not to tell him about the Charger

††††††††††

"How's it coming along?" Wesley asked

"I've been watching this show for hours on end and you know what?" Fred said, "I kinda like it. I don't know why, but I do"

"Well, I've been getting nowhere"

Wesley grabbed a stool and sat next to Fred, watching the taped re-runs of Smile Time. Knox soon arrived, carrying two cups of coffee and handed one to Fred. Wesley looked up, expecting to receive the other cup, but when he saw that Knox was keeping it for himself, he pretended to stretch, but Knox had already noticed

"Oh, sorry, didn't you know you wanted one"

"It's completely fine"

"So, how's it going here?" Knox asked

"Getting nowhere really," Fred said, "Thanks for the coffee, though"

Knox smiled and left, as Wesley watched him go, before muting the TV

"So, how's it going between you two?"

"He's nice, but he's not my type," Fred replied

"Well, what is your type?" Wesley asked

"He has to be funny. A certain type of funny"

She was about to say more, but Wesley had turned back to the TV

"Hang on a second"

While three of the puppets were in the background singing, the main puppet, Polo, was now up against the screen, seemingly talking to the audience. Wesley unmuted the TV and Polo was back alongside his fellow puppets, singing with them. When he muted it again, Polo was suddenly up against the screen

"The song acts as a cloaking device," Fred said, "That's how they're doing it"

"We have to tell Angel"

Wesley and Fred left the lab, arriving at Angel's office, where a few workmen were busy putting the doors back on the hinges. Angel was currently sitting at his desk, moodily staring at the paperwork

"We have some good news," Wesley said, "It's the puppets. They're the ones stealing the children's life-force, using a song to cloak their activities"

"It sure is the puppets," Gunn said, waving a piece of paper, "Their creator made a deal with some demons in order to boost ratings. However, he didn't read the fine print, which allowed the demons to take over everything"

"Hey, Angel, some good news," Cordelia cried, entering the office, before seeing the others, "And it looks like you had some as well. But anyhow, I've been working with the mystics and they believe that you'll return to normal in a few days"

Angel flew out of his chair, hugging his wife around her hips, the top of his head just reaching under her bellybutton as he nuzzled her

"Oh thank you so much! I love you!"

"And I love you too, Angel"

Gunn coughed and Angel stepped back

"So, how do we deal with these guys?"

"Should be pretty easy," Gunn said, "Just kill the puppets. And destroy the nest egg that's holding all the children's life-forces"

"I might be able to do something about that," Wesley said, "I'll get a few things"

"Alright then," Angel said, drawing a broadsword, "Let's kill some puppets!"

††††††††††

"Welcome to another episode of Smile Time," the puppet, Flora, said, "And today's going to be an extra special day"

"That's right, kids," Polo added, "And we're going to need your help. All your help. But first, shall we sing the Smile Time song? I think it's time for it"

"No, it's time to kick your ass all the way back to hell"

Flora and Polo looked up, seeing Angel sitting on the clubhouse, his broadsword resting on his shoulders. He leapt down and tried to swing the broadsword, but it was too heavy for him, as Polo tackled him

"Hey man, you're ruining the show," the dog puppet, Gruff, cried

His head was suddenly severed from his neck, stuffing flying from the opening

"That's the idea," Gunn replied

He turned around, just as Flora lunged at him, wrapping her arms around his face, then twisting, spinning him off the stage. Meanwhile, Wesley and Fred had entered the room where Angel had been transformed into a puppet. Wesley removed a few things from his bag, before opening a scroll and began reading. The bright blue smile started to appear before them, as Wesley read from the scroll

"Don't look at the light, Fred"

At that moment, he went flying, as a large, human-sized puppet with a horn for a nose went for him, picking him up by the throat. Wesley kicked the puppet in the stomach, as Fred picked up the scroll and continued reading, trying not to look at the light

"I'm gonna tear you a new puppet hole, bitch!" Polo cried

He punched Angel, before blocking another punch, but Angel headbutted him, before blocking Polo's punch and kicking him in the jaw. Polo fell back, as Angel landed upon him, wrapping his hands around his throat. Polo tried to shove Angel off, but found that the vampire was too strong for him

"So, you've got a bit of demon in you?"

"Yeah, I've got a lot of demon in me"

Angel vamped out, before picking Polo up and throwing him across the stage. He crashed into the clubhouse, one of the large broken pieces impaling him in the stomach and sending his stuffing everywhere, as Angel resumed his puppet face

"How you doing?" he asked

"I think I'm good," Gunn replied, holding up Flora's arms

In the meantime, Wesley had taken the puppet out by impaling it through the eye with its horn, as Fred completed the spell, shattering the nest egg, as all the children's life forces disappeared. She turned to Wesley, seeing that he was okay

††††††††††

_Later…_

"Hey," Fred said

"Hey," Wesley said, "I think we did pretty well back there"

"Yeah, I think we did. All the children are better now and in a few days time, Angel will be back to normal. So, a good day for us then. And now"

"Yes, and now, we go home," Wesley said, grabbing his jacket

He went to leave, but Fred stood in his way

"Haven't you noticed anything different about me, the way I've been acting around you?" she asked

When Wesley gave her a blank look, she sighed and kissed him fully on the lips

"That was a sign"

Wesley stared at her in amazement, before dropping his jacket and kissing her again

††††††††††


	17. Cavemen & Astronauts

††††††††††

Fred cried out as she pulled the trigger, sending forth streams of flames, roasting the eggs sticking to the wall. She was caught up in her flame throwing that she didn't notice an egg to her left starting to hatch. However, a shotgun blast took care of that, as Wesley stood beside his girlfriend, staring at the roaring flames

"Nice work," he said

"Thanks. It's kinda romantic, don't you think?"

Wesley shared a smile with her, before pulling her in for a kiss. However, they drew back when they heard arguing from the next room

"Whinge, whinge, whinge," Spike said, "What did you want me to do?"

"Could have asked me to turn around," Angel growled

He was walking around with a large broadsword shoved through his chest, with a bug-like demon impaled on his back, as Spike rolled his eyes

"Heat of the battle. There wasn't time"

"You just like stabbing me"

"I'm shocked, shocked you would say that! I much prefer hitting you with blunt objects"

"We only brought you along because we felt sorry for you"

"If it wasn't for me, you'd be bug food, so stop complaining"

Spike smirked and headed off, as Angel sighed, Fred soon joining him

"I'm fine, Fred"

"No, I just want the bug. It's in pretty good nick and I want to study it"

Angel simply stared at her

††††††††††

"What's this?" Knox asked

Two deliverymen had just arrived with a large stone coffin inlaid with jewels

"Delivery," replied the thick-voiced black delivery man

"Do you need me to sign anything?"

"Been signed"

The men left, as Fred arrived, her eyes widening at the coffin

"What's this?"

"Don't know. I'll get the analysts to check it out"

Knox left, as Fred stared at the coffin. The jewels seemed to entranced her and she reached out slowly to touch one, curiosity taking over her

"Fred?"

She jumped, as Wesley entered the lab, his eyes resting on the coffin

"What's this?"

"Don't know. Just arrived. Did you want something, Wes?"

"How about lunch? Just you and me? I know this place and the guy who runs it"

"Sounds great. I'll just get a few things"

She headed to her office, as Wesley smiled, watching her rummaging amongst her things, just as his pager went off. Checking it, he saw that it was a message from Gunn

"We'll have to stop by Gunn's office for something," Wesley said as Fred joined him, "Hopefully, it's nothing too major"

They headed to Gunn's office, finding the lawyer singing a tune. But when he saw them, he quickly changed his tune to a rap song

"What can we do for you, Charles?" Fred asked

"Just something I want you to take to Angel," Gunn said, "It's about Eve"

"Why can't you take it?" Wesley asked

"I'm not going in there"

††††††††††

"It's bollocks, Angel! It's your brand of bollocks from the first to last," Spike cried

"No, you can't ever see the big picture. You can't see any picture!" Angel shouted

"I am talking about something primal. Right? Savagery. Brutal animal instinct"

"And that wins out every time with you. You know, the human race has evolved, Spike!"

"Into a bunch of namby-pamby, self-analysing wankers who could never hope to-"

"We're bigger. We're smarter. Plus, there's a thing called teamwork, not to mention the superstitious terror of your pure aggressors!"

"You just want it to be the way you want it to be," Spike said

"It's not about what I want!" Angel shouted

"Sorry. Is this something we should all be discussing?" Wesley asked, entering the office

"No," Angel replied

"It just...sounds a little serious"

"It was mostly...theoretical. We..."

"We were just working out a b-" Spike said, "Look, if cavemen and astronauts got into a fight, who would win?"

"Ah. You've been yelling at each other for 40 minutes about this?" Wesley asked, before crossing his arms, "Do the astronauts have weapons?"

"No," Angel and Spike said together

††††††††††

Monster Island

A small island situated about three hours off the coast of Los Angeles, inhabited by hundreds of different demon species, all living together in peace and harmony, ruled over by a massive Old One, who resided in the mountains. But now, that peace and harmony was about to be shattered…

A six-armed demon dressed in armour was performing his patrols around the main palace, when an arrow suddenly appeared in his throat. Dropping to the ground, his body was dragged from sight, as six demons descended from the darkness. They were humanoid, dressed in military gear and looked like they were wearing masks made from human skin. Carrying swords, the small band of Scourge demons entered the palace, quickly and silently eliminating any guards they came across

"This is the way," cried the leader, "Come on, follow me"

Taking the keys from the latest kill, he opened the small door and quickly killed the guard inside, before grabbing a burning torch and leading his fellow comrades down the winding stairs, before reaching the dungeon. Two arrows flew through the air, killing the guards, as the leader searched for the key

"This is the right cell," the leader said, "We're here"

"Who goes there?" asked the resident

"I am Hilgerd, current leader of the Scourge. I'm here to set you free"

"And why would you want to do that?"

"Because you and I have a common enemy. And now's the time to take him down"

"Oh and who is our common enemy?"

"The vampire with a soul. Angel"

The prisoner shuffled about in his cell, before reaching the bars

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Axtius asked, "Get me out of here"

††††††††††

"Harmony pulled me out of a very promising game of poker down in Accounts Receivable," Spike said, walking over a chair and dropping down in it, flinging his leg over the arm, "Oh and the guys down there think cavemen will win, so don't even start," he added, shrugging cockily

"I can't do this anymore," Angel sighed

"Admitting defeat, are we?"

"No, I mean you and me"

"You saying we should start annoying other people?"

"You should go," Angel said, "There are many Wolfram and Hart branches across the globe. I'll give you resources, gadgets and vehicles to go wherever. You'll be helping the helpless, but in style. Or preferably in Outer Mongolia"

"Like a roving agent? Like 007, but without the poncy tux, huh? Go anywhere I want?" Spike said, "Sounds very tempting"

††††††††††

"Ah, that's much better," Axtius said, stretching his arms, "You know, it's been hell being all cooped in there for two years"

"We have spent the last four years gathering our forces," Hilgerd said, "Angel had nearly destroyed us all. He came very close. But now is our time to take him down"

"Very well then, Hilgerd," Axtius said, "The time has come. It is time for revenge"

"We managed to get this for you"

A Scourge demon stepped forward and presented a box to Axtius. He opened it, revealing the glowing Pristagrix. His jaw dropped, as he slowly picked up his treasured weapon, fondling it gently

"Let's take our revenge, gentlemen"

††††††††††


	18. War of Vengeance

**Yeah, so I'm replacing the Illyria arc with an arc involving Axtius. Why? Well, while I love Illyria, I feel that her role will confliced with Cordelia's, so Illyria will not appear. Also, I will be tempted to hook Illyria up with Spike and I actually don't want that for this story. Well, here is the next chapter. Enjoy**

††††††††††

Angel sighed as he stared at the paperwork. He was currently working on a new client case, as well as trying to have Spike transferred to somewhere out of the country. Leaning back in his chair, Angel stared out the window, thinking about how things were different when he fought against Wolfram and Hart, instead of working for them. Things were not much different, but he knew he preferred the fight against evil, instead of the boring corporate work with evil

"Who am I kidding? Things were easier when I fought Wolfram and Hart. I knew the fight would never end, but it was better. Sometimes I wonder if this is the right thing"

Looking back at the paperwork, Angel felt a desire to leave it unfinished, but he knew that the paperwork had to be done by the end of the day. Letting out another sigh, Angel picked up his pen, wishing it was a sword, and signed the transfer papers

KA-BOOOM!!

"What the hell?" Angel cried, diving behind his desk

Yelling could be heard, as sirens went off. Before he could do anything, the windows in his office shattered, as four demons came flying in. Angel instantly recognised one of them as a Scourge demon, while the other three were Mahkesh demons

"I thought you were all dead," Angel growled at the Scourge demon

"You can't destroy the Scourge, no matter how hard you try"

"Yeah, well, we'll see about that"

A Mahkesh demon lunged at Angel, swinging its sword, but he dodged the blade and wrapped his arm under the demon's arm and behind its neck, before using his other hand to snap the demon's neck. Dropping the body, Angel dodged a second Mahkesh by spinning around and grabbing a broadsword off the wall. Drawing the weapon, Angel blocked the demon's blow and kicked it in the stomach, as the third Mahkesh came from behind. Rolling over the desk, Angel then kicked the desk, slamming the demons against the wall, as the Scourge demon came in, grabbing Angel's arms, but scored an elbow in the face, as Angel jumped over the flying table, before blocking a Mahkesh and disembowelling them both in one move. Meanwhile, the Scourge demon threw the table off, having being knocked over by it, and got to his feet, before swinging his fist. Angel dodged and impaled him, then dropped his body. The door burst open, as two dead Mahkesh demons fell inside. Spike was the next one inside, his knuckles bloody as he looked at Angel

"We're under attack"

"What's going on?" Angel asked, joining Spike

"Mahkesh demons blew up the building doors. They just came in and start killing everyone they came across. There's also those football-headed demons and some pure-blood Bracken demons"

"Bracken demons? Oh no, don't tell me he's back"

"Who?" Spike asked

"Where are the others?" Angel asked

"Holding the fort. Come on"

Angel and Spike left the office, stepping around Knox's dead body and entering the lobby, seeing demons everywhere. Cordelia and Connor were fighting side by side, as were Gunn and Wesley, armed with an axe and shotgun respectively. Harmony was still behind her desk, doing her best to fight off the demons, while Ashleigh was hiding underneath the desk. A high-pitched scream rang out, as a few Mahkesh demons entered the lobby, holding their hands over their ears, crying in pain, as Lorne followed in after them, a small satisfied smile on his face

"Lorne! Get Ashleigh out," Angel called, pointing at Harmony's desk

Lorne waved and hurried over, dodging the weapons and bodies, before reaching the desk and picking Ashleigh up, then hurrying off with her, kicking a Scourge demon in the groin. A Bracken demon lunged at Angel, swinging his axe, but Angel blocked and kicked him in the stomach, as Spike dodged a Scourge demon's fist and slugged him in the face. Ducking under Angel's sword, Spike then kicked the Bracken demon, as Angel cut down the Scourge demon, before turning back and beheading the Bracken demon, as Spike picked up the fallen sword

Connor drove his fist into a Mahkesh demon's stomach, then punched it in the face, as Cordelia swung her katana, blocking a Mahkesh demon, then slashing it across the chest, before parrying a Mahkesh demon's sword thrust and elbowing it in the face, breaking its nose. Gunn sliced open a Bracken demon at the stomach, as Wesley blasted down a Scourge demon. He aimed at a Mahkesh demon and pulled the trigger, but the shotgun clicked. The Mahkesh grinned and lunged at Wesley, only to get an axe in the back. Nodding at Gunn, Wesley stepped back and hurriedly loaded his shotgun, before cocking it and firing again, taking out a Bracken demon

"So, who's back?" Spike asked, cutting down a Scourge demon

"His name is Axtius," Angel replied, blocking a Mahkesh demon, "He's a Bracken demon. I've fought against him before, about two years ago"

"How did that end?"

"I defeated him and he was imprisoned on the island of Questral"

"Great, so now he's escaped and looking for revenge"

"That's right"

Angel and Spike worked in tandem together, taking down the demons around them. Meanwhile, Cordelia blocked a Bracken demon and cut him down, as a Mahkesh demon swung his sword. Cordelia didn't dodge in time and she cried out when a crimson line appeared on her waist

"Mom!" Connor cried

"Cordy!" Angel shouted out

She fell to her knees, holding herself up on the katana, as the Mahkesh raised his sword. However, Cordelia started glowing brightly, blinding everyone in the vicinity. The glow then washed out from her, covering the entire Wolfram and Hart building. It only lasted for a few seconds and when it faded away, every Mahkesh, Bracken and Scourge demon were dead. Everyone looked around in shock, as Angel and Connor headed to Cordelia, helping her to her feet

"I'm fine, guys, okay, I'm fine," she said

"Are you sure?" Angel asked

Cordelia lifted the hem of her shirt, seeing that her injury had completely healed. She lowered her shirt and smiled at her husband and son

"Wonder what this is about," Gunn said, moving amongst the bodies

"I believe it can only mean one thing," Wesley said, "Axtius is back"

"How'd you figure?"

Wesley pointed his shotgun amongst the dead Bracken demons

"These are all pure-blood demons and the Bracken demons give it away. Why else would these types of demons attack this building? They're after Angel"

"Great, so all we have to do is find this Axtius guy," Spike said, "But where?"

"Well, we could have asked one of these guys, but Barbie here took them all out," Gunn said, glancing at Cordelia

She shot him a glare in return and he looked away

"Maybe not all of them," Angel said

He moved amongst the bodies, before finding a barely-alive Scourge demon. He was lying amongst the bodies, blood running from his lips and coughing up more blood, as Angel knelt beside him, placing the edge of the sword against his throat

"I'm not afraid of you, vampire," the demon said, but his eyes said otherwise

"Where is he?" Angel demanded

"You can't do any more worse to me"

"Wanna bet? You should know my history. The name's Angelus. Long before you were around with your Neo-Nazi party, I terrorised all of Europe for over a hundred years. I am the worst mass-murderer in all recorded history. And if it's one thing I'm good at, it's torture and I haven't done in a while, so it may take me some time to get into it. You still think I can't do any worse to you?"

††††††††††

Axtius killed the guard and made his way into the building's lobby. After escaping from Monster Island, Axtius returned to the mainland, before rebuilding his army and sending it after Angel, who he had learned now worked at Wolfram and Hart. In the meantime, he was trying to find the gateway to an Old One's prison, hoping to raise the ancient demon and destroy all of Los Angeles. If the army hadn't killed Angel, he would be annihilated by the Old One, which Axtius would have enjoyed seeing

"Now, let's get started on this thing"

"Is it alright we can have front row seats?" Angel asked

"If not, we can sit in the back," Spike added

Axtius whirled around, drawing the Pristagrix, seeing Angel, Spike, Wesley, Cordelia and Gunn before him, all armed. The three Scourge bodyguards were looking between Axtius and the Fang Gang, waiting for orders

"Welcome, Angel," Axtius said, "It has been a long time"

"Not long enough," Angel replied

††††††††††


	19. Champions vs Axtius

††††††††††

"How nice of you to join us," Axtius smiled, palming the Pristagrix

"So, you found a way off Monster Island then, huh?" Angel asked, "And managed to rebuild the Scourge army as well?"

"For revenge, Angel"

"I've told you this before and I'll tell you again: I didn't cause your son's death. Also, I've told you this before and I'll tell you again: Doyle died a hero"

"It's not my son's death that matters to me now," Axtius said, "It is revenge. For two years, I rotted in that cell beneath Questral. And now I am free to destroy you and your beloved city. Which is why I'm here, raising an Old One to crush you"

"Wow, all this for me?" Angel said, "I feel special. Strangely, an Old One is not the problem. You are"

Angel dashed forward, swinging his sword, but Axtius deflected the blade and cracked Angel in the face with the Pristagrix, throwing him aside. Meanwhile, Wesley, Gunn and Cordelia engaged the three Scourge demons in combat, as Spike moved in, bringing his sword down overhead, as Axtius blocked and kicked him in the stomach. Spike staggered, but then slashed high, before spinning around with the move and slashing at Axtius' waist. The Bracken demon dodged the blade on both swings and slammed the Pristagrix into Spike's face, knocking him down

Angel got to his feet and stabbed, but Axtius parried the move and spun around, backhanding Angel, then swung the Pristagrix overhead, as Angel blocked and brought his sword down, along with the Pristagrix, before punching Axtius in the face. He stumbled back, before blocking Angel and throwing him aside, then quickly blocking Spike's sword. The blond vampire slashed low, but Axtius jumped over the blade, only to get kicked in the stomach, as Angel got to his feet and charged in. Blocking Spike's strike and knocking him down, Axtius whirled around, trading blows with Angel. The Pristagrix started glowing, as Axtius swung hard, clashing it against Angel's sword and discharging the stored energy, throwing Angel through the air. He slammed against the wall and fell into a heap

"It's amazing what revenge can do for you," Axtius said, "It can make you strong. Pretty much invincible. Nothing can stop you. Oh and using a powerful weapon sure helps the cause"

"You must be using some sort of magic to be making yourself stronger," Angel said, getting to his feet, "I remember the time I was about to beat you"

"You were lucky. This time, you won't be"

Axtius swung the Pristagrix, but Angel dodged, dropping to the ground and swinging his leg around, slamming into Axtius' legs and dropping him on the ground. The Bracken demon growled and rolled away, getting to his feet, as Angel did the same, before swinging their weapons at each other. Axtius smacked Angel's sword downwards, before slamming the Pristagrix into his ribs. Angel groaned as he felt a few ribs break, as Axtius swung the Pristagrix again. Angel managed to block the blow, as Spike came up from behind. Kicking Angel in the stomach, Axtius whirled around, blocking Spike's slash, as Spike then broke away and slashed again. Axtius blocked once again, before elbowing Spike in the jaw, then slamming the Pristagrix into his stomach. As Spike doubled over, Axtius slammed his weapon onto the vampire's back, knocking him down, then spinning back around to block Angel's blow, before pushing him back, as Spike got to his feet

"Alright, I don't really know who you are, but you're pissing me off"

"What do you say we take care of him?" Angel asked

"Sounds like a plan"

Angel vamped out, as Spike did the same. Then, they struck at the same time, coming in from different directions. Axtius stepped back, blocking both their swords at the same time, as Angel and Spike broke away and spun around, their swords swinging high. Ducking under the blades, Axtius then swung at Angel, but he blocked the move, before slicing upwards, as Spike stabbed. Axtius whirled around and smacked the sword aside, before blocking Angel and kicking Spike. The two vampires then moved around, so that they could attack from the front. Axtius had a hard time battling against them both as they fired move after move at him, attacking together and fighting in a near-perfect tandem. Axtius was pushed towards the wall, as Angel and Spike chopped at the same time. Axtius blocked, but was kicked in the stomach by both vampires, as Angel then blocked the Pristagrix and Spike sliced downwards. Axtius cried out in pain as his severed hand fell to the ground, then cried out again when Angel's sword pinned him to the wall. Angel resumed his human face, removing the sword, as Axtius fell to his knees

"I'm sorry for all this, Axtius, but you brought it upon yourself"

"Curse you, Angel!" Axtius growled, "I'll kill you, I swear I will!"

"No, you won't"

Angel swung his sword, decapitating Axtius. He looked away from the body, seeing that Wesley, Cordelia and Gunn had taken care of the Scourge demons

††††††††††

Spike flopped onto the couch, the wound on his head having healed up, but the blood was still there. Angel was sitting on the desk, his injuries healed as well, but like Spike, he hadn't cleaned up his blood yet. Everyone else were in the lobby, cleaning up and removing the bodies, as Spike sighed

"That offer still good?"

"Where you go away?"

"Yeah, that one"

"Yeah, it's still good"

"Good. Give it to someone else"

"You're not leaving?"

Spike sighed and got to his feet, staring out the window

"I may not like you, Angel, and I don't think I ever will. But whatever's coming next, that's important. I can feel it coming. The big one and whatever it is, it's a hell of a lot bigger than Axtius or Wolfram and Hart. Gotta fight the good fight and you need all the help you can get. The least I can do is give it as good as I can"

Angel nodded and stared out the window

††††††††††

_One week later…_

Connor was walking back home from Nina's place. He had spent the entire afternoon there after school and now it was late. He could have taken a taxi home, but Connor knew he could handle anything, seeing as he knew what went bump in the night. A van turned down the street, its lights washing over Connor, as it continued down the road, before coming to a screeching halt. Connor watched as the van turned around, before driving straight towards him. He dived out of the way at the last minute, as the van spun on its wheels, nearly tipping over. Rolling to his feet, Connor whirled around, just as the van slammed into him, sending him sprawling across the road. He groaned, feeling the blood run from his nose and painfully sat up. The van had stopped before him, but instead of running him over, it backed up and drove away

††††††††††

"Connor, are you alright?" Cordelia asked

He nodded, before wincing in pain, as his mother checked him over, before helping him to the couch. After the van had left, Connor had managed to get hold of a taxi to take him to Wolfram and Hart, finding his mother in the lobby, on her way to get some hot chocolate

"A van hit me," Connor said

"What? How?"

"I don't know. It came down the street, the driver saw me, turned the van around and ran me over. Then it took off"

"Did you get a look at the numberplate? Or the driver?"

Connor shook his head and stretched his arm, wincing, but at least whatever damage had been done was already being repaired. He looked at his mother, seeing the concerned look on her face

"Why would someone run you over like that?" Cordelia asked, "Sounds random"

"Or not," Connor said, "Maybe it was deliberate, but I don't know why"

"Well, we'll talk to your father tomorrow. You get some rest now, honey"

Cordelia kissed her son on his forehead, before heading up to the penthouse, as Connor headed into Wesley's office, pulling out a mattress and lying down on it. Before he fell asleep, he wondered who had attacked him and why

††††††††††


	20. Connor vs Sahjahn

††††††††††

Connor stood on the footpath near the car park, waiting for the client. However, that was not the only reason why he was out on the streets alone tonight. He was hoping to try and find out who had attacked him the previous night and was using himself as bait. It was a discussion that Angel and Cordelia had argued about and surprisingly; Angel won in the end, wanting to find out who had run his son down, using a client in order to get his answers

Sighing, Connor turned around to look for the client, but saw a demon before him instead. The demon was humanoid, with thick red skin, a large lower jaw that housed a set of tusks and scrawny black hair tied up in a small topknot

"Uh, hi," Connor said

The demon growled and drew back its fist, but Connor was faster, striking the demon in the face, followed a second punch to the demon's ribs. It groaned in pain, as Connor delivered an uppercut, followed by a kick to the demon's stomach, throwing the demon on its back. Hearing heavy footsteps, Connor whirled around, as another demon of the same species came at him. Dodging the fist, Connor sank his own fist into the demon's stomach, knocking the air out of it, then slamming his elbow onto the demon's back, dropping it to the ground. Three more demons arrived, as Angel suddenly appeared, leaping over a car and kicking a demon in the back. The other two demons whirled around and lunged at Angel, but he held his own against both demons, eventually snapping one demon's neck, then punching the other demon, before lifting it up and dropping the demon onto his knee, breaking its back

"Whoa, you nearly broke that guy in half," Connor exclaimed

"Thanks. You alright?" Angel asked

"Yeah, I'm good. Thanks for showing up, though I had it handled"

Angel rolled his eyes, before grinning and ruffling his son's hair

††††††††††

"Now we have an idea of what's going on," Wesley said, gesturing to the photos of the tusked demons, "These are the henchmen of Cyvus Vail"

"And who's that?" Lorne asked, seabreeze in hand

"He's a sorcerer. One of the most powerful around. Has a lot of tendrils in the demon underworld and wields a lot of influence"

"Sounds like a fun chappie"

"If he's using these demons, he's not trying to stay hidden," Wesley explained, "He wants you to know it was him"

"Right then, well, I'll just go and speak to him then," Angel said

"Angel, be careful. Cyvus Vail is someone you don't want to cross"

"I'm not gonna cross him, Wes, I'm just gonna talk to him"

††††††††††

Cyvus Vail sat in his chair, adjusting the drips on his gurney, which was all that was keeping him alive. Red-skinned and mostly bald, with a few strand of long, wispy white hair, he was a very old demon, but one who had mastered much magic and had used that magic to hold a very influential place in the demonic underworld. Just then, the curtains to his room blew open, as a guard came flying in. Angel soon walked into the room, an angry glare on his face

"Did you kill all of my guards?" Cyvus asked

"Just the ones I could find," Angel replied, "You called?"

"Yes, I did. Come here, help me up. I'd have one of my guards do it, but"

Angel walked over and helped Cyvus to his feet, before yanking out his breathing tube. Cyvus gasped and choked, as Angel shoved him back into his chair

"You're gonna tell me why you're after my son?"

"Do you remember Sahjahn?" Cyvus asked

Angel handed the breathing tube back to Cyvus, as he plugged it back in. it had been two years since Angel gave Sahjahn any thought, figuring the Granok demon was done for ever since Justine Cooper trapped him in an urn

"What about Sahjahn?" Angel asked

"I have some unfinished business, Angel," Cyvus said, opening a cupboard and revealing Sahjahn's urn, "Doesn't go with the décor. He's a nasty little cur, always trying to kill me. You don't want me as an enemy, Angel"

"Alright, fine, I'll do it. I'll kill Sahjahn"

"No, the prophecy is very clear. Only your son can kill Sahjahn. It's what he was born for. It's why he was sent to Quor-Toth in the first place. Only Connor can do it"

††††††††††

"So, I gotta kill some guy?" Connor asked

"Angel, this is insane," Cordelia said, "Sahjahn nearly killed you himself"

"According to the prophecy, Connor will kill Sahjahn," Angel said

"I say let him go at this Sahjahn," Spike suggested, "He should be fine"

"You stay out of this," Cordelia told the blond vampire

"If it's what the prophecy says and I'm the only one, then I'll do it," Connor said, "Otherwise, who knows, maybe he'll escape and come after us. Axtius did"

"No, he won't," Angel said, "I know you'll do fine, son"

††††††††††

_The next night…_

"My, my, you have grown into a fine, young lad," Cyvus said

"Uh, yeah, okay then, can we get this started?" Connor asked, "I've got homework"

Cyvus looked at Angel, who shrugged; then pointed to another room, where a table sat in the centre, with weapons and an urn sitting on the table. Connor walked into the room, as a wall appeared, sealing him off. However, Cyvus and Angel were able to watch, as Connor walked around the table, before opening the urn. Mist poured from the urn and gathered on the floor, before forming solidly into Sahjahn

"I thank you. in return, I grant you three wishes," Sahjahn said

"Really?" Connor asked

"No. I'm only kidding. Oh God, that urn wasn't a holiday, that's for sure"

Sahjahn stretched his arms, rotating his shoulders, before looking at Connor and frowning, as recognition washed over him. Connor saw the look and smiled

"You're him, aren't you?" Sahjahn asked, "How was Quor-Toth?"

"Could have been better," Connor replied, "Thanks for sending me, by the way"

"You're welcome. So, here we are then, as the original prophecy said"

Sahjahn fingered a sword, before moving swiftly and throwing the urn, striking Connor in the head, catching him by surprise and knocking him down. Sahjahn hurried over, picking Connor up and slamming him against the wall

"I will not let this prophecy come to pass. I had spent over two hundred years trying to prevent it and today won't be it"

He then threw Connor onto the table, as Connor groaned and got off, whirling around as Sahjahn threw a punch. Dodging, Connor stepped back, before blocking Sahjahn's next punch and striking the Granok in the face. Sahjahn backhanded Connor and grabbed him by his jacket, before throwing him across the room. Connor slammed into the wall and fell to his knees, before sweeping Sahjahn's feet out from underneath him. As Sahjahn fell, Connor moved towards the table, but the Granok demon grabbed him from behind and smacked his head against the table, before flipping him onto his back and grabbing a nearby axe

"I was hoping it would go like this," Sahjahn said, raising the axe

He brought it down, but Connor grabbed the shaft with both hands, before throwing Sahjahn aside, then rolling off the table, still holding the axe. Sahjahn lunged, but Connor dodged, smacking the Granok demon in the face with the butt of the axe, then whirling around with an elbow to his jaw. Sahjahn stumbled back, stunned by the blow, as Connor whirled around and plunged the axe into his stomach, then pulled it back and swung again. Sahjahn's head fell from his neck, as his body collapsed. The wall disappeared, as Connor dropped the axe and faced his father. Angel checked him over, looking at Sahjahn's decapitated body and feeling a sense of completion

"Such fine work, Connor," Cyvus smirked, "You're an excellent warrior-"

"Save it," Angel said, "We're leaving. Come on, Connor"

"Hey, Cyvus," Connor said, "You try and pull any more stunts like this again and I'll be coming back here for your head. Got it?"

Cyvus moved a hand to his own throat, as Connor smirked and joined his father

"The night's young," Angel said, as they left the building, "Wanna see a movie?"

"Sure. How about we bring Mom and Ashleigh?" Connor said

"Yeah, sounds good. It's been ages since we've done something like that"

Ruffling his son's hair, Angel got into the Viper, as Connor joined him, and he pulled away from the curb, before driving back to Wolfram and Hart

"I don't think your mother's gonna like what we've been up to"

"No, I don't think so either"

††††††††††


	21. Underneath

**A blooper I've realised I've made: I've put Connor's fight with Sahjahn before Hamilton's arrival, when it was the other way around, but it's not too much of a problem really**

††††††††††

_Two weeks later…_

"Okay, so, from what we've gathered, we've got an apocalypse coming," Angel said, rubbing his forehead, "However, we don't know how or when"

"Oh boy, I can hardly wait," Spike said in a bored tone

Angel glared at him

"If only there was a way where we could get more information," Wesley said

"How about from the person who was the Partners' liaison?" Gunn asked

He handed Angel a slip of paper. Angel read it, seeing it had an address on it

"That's where Lindsey was living and I bet Eve is there as well," Gunn said

"Excellent," Angel said, "I'll go check this out"

"I'll come with," Spike offered, "Not a lot of fun these days"

††††††††††

"Hello, Eve," Angel smiled

"What are you doing here?" Eve cried, covering herself with a blanket

"Just come for some answers," Spike replied

"I'm not helping you. After what happened, I'm through with you guys. I've been trapped here for weeks"

"You're not trapped, you're hiding," Angel said, "You know the minute you step outside, the Senior Partners will zero in on you"

"I'm not helping you"

"Well, I could always tell the Senior Partners that you're here," Angel said

"You wouldn't," Eve said

"Not if you tell me what I want to know"

The next minute, the entire apartment started shaking. Angel and Spike were looking around in bewilderment, but Eve knew what was going on

"Angel, don't let them take me. I'll tell you everything I know"

Angel looked at Eve, wondering if she was telling the truth or not, when a minute later, all the tattoos on the walls melted away and the door burst open, as a tall man in an expensive suit stormed into the apartment. However, Angel, Spike and Eve were already gone, the open window swinging in the breeze, as the man glared

††††††††††

"Harmony, I want security guards everywhere, at every door, at every stairs," Angel said, "Nothing gets in without my say-so"

"You know how that never works," Harmony said

"Harm!"

"Righty-o, boss"

"Angel, what the hell is she doing here?" Cordelia demanded

"We need to talk to her," Angel said, before turning to Spike, "Watch Eve. Anything tries to get to her, kill them"

"Where are you going?" Spike asked

"See my lawyer"

Angel headed to Gunn's office, finding the lawyer sitting sullenly at his desk

"Gunn, I need help," Angel said, "Do I have the right to protect Eve?"

"Uh, yeah, you do. It's in your contract, stating that the CEO of a Wolfram and Hart has the right to take care of a wayward employee"

"Okay, thanks"

Angel left the office, as Spike took Eve into the main office. Angel was heading there, but Cordelia stepped in his way, her arms crossed over her chest

"Again I ask, why is she here?"

"Need some answers, hon. We'll be fine"

Angel stepped into the office and locked the doors behind him, before turning to Eve

"Alright, Eve, start talking"

"Yeah, like for starters, what are you?" Spike asked

"I'm a liaison. I liaise. I'm a Child of the Senior Partners. I only know what they want me to know and when they want me to know. I take messages for them and pass them onto you, if there are any"

"So, you're a go between," Angel said, "A middle man"

"So, what are the Senior Partners?" Spike asked

"Don't know," Eve said, "I don't have access to that information. It's there in my head, but I don't have access"

"That's just bloody brilliant"

"But there was someone who could have told you everything you needed to know," Eve said, "And you gave him up to the Senior Partners"

"Lindsey?"

"He's spent a large part of his life studying the Senior Partners. He knows a lot about them and he knows more about you then, well, you do"

"So that's why the Partners took him?" Spike asked, "Couldn't risk Lindsey and Angel having a sit down together"

"Is that why Lindsey came back? For the Partners"

"No, that was about you," Eve said, "He really doesn't like you"

At that moment, a knock came at the door. Angel answered it, seeing Gunn before him. Surprisingly, Gunn was dressed in his casual street gear, his head shaved

"Having a crisis?" Spike asked

"I know where Lindsey is," Gunn said

Within minutes, Angel, Gunn and Spike were down in the car park, walking amongst the cars, while Eve was being watched over by Lorne, Harmony and Cordelia

"There was a guy in Tokyo who the Senior Partners had some problems with," Gunn said, "Lindsey most likely copied the tattoo thing from him"

"So wherever this guy is, that's where Lindsey is?" Angel asked

"It's a holding bay, until they decide what to do with him"

"Well, how are we gonna get there?"

"Ever taken the Camaro?"

The three got into the Camaro and took it out on the street. However, soon, the car started driving itself, leading them down a series of streets

"Doesn't this feel weird to you?" Angel asked, staring at the steering wheel

"Haven't you heard of _Knight Rider_?" Spike asked, "KITT? Knight Industries Two Thousand? No? Stupid"

"I've never seen these streets before"  
The Camaro turned down into a tunnel, before coming out. It had been night when they went through, but when they came out, it was the middle of the day

"This isn't hell, it's the burbs," Spike said

The Camaro pulled up outside a house, as Gunn opened the door. Angel and Spike instantly cried out when the sunlight touched them, but it didn't burn them

"Alternate dimension," Gunn explained

"Oh"

Angel and Spike followed Gunn to the front door, as he knocked and waited. A moment later, Lindsey answered the door. He looked at the three as if he didn't know them at all

"Yes, can I help?" Lindsey asked

"We need to talk," Angel said, "Inside, preferably"

"Of course. Come on in"

Lindsey led the three into the living room. a blond haired woman walked through the kitchen, giving Lindsey a smile, which he returned, before turning to Angel

"So, what can I help you with?"

"You don't remember me at all, do you?" Angel asked, "We used to work together. At Wolfram and Hart. For the Senior Partners"

"No, I don't know any of that. Is this Fin's idea of a joke? I swear I will talk to him about this. Is he outside?"

"No, he's not. Look, listen to me, this is not real. None of it is"

"So, Trish is not my wife and Zac is not my son?" Lindsey asked

"No, they're not. This is all fake, Lindsey. None of it's real"

"Okay, now this is not really funny. I think you should leave"

Seeing the new necklace on Lindsey, Angel reached out and ripped it off. Lindsey fell to the ground, squeezing his eyes open and shut, before looking at Angel with the same hatred he always had. Then, he saw the dagger on Angel's belt

"If you're gonna kill me, do it quick," Lindsey said

"If I was gonna kill you, I'd do it slowly," Angel said, lifting him up to his feet, "You're coming with us and we're gonna have a nice chat"

The group were about to head towards the door, when Trish walked back into the kitchen. She still had the smile on her face, but this time, she was carrying an Uzi mini-submachine gun. Spike's eyes went wide, as Trish opened fire

††††††††††


	22. The New Liaison

††††††††††

"So, someone's coming for you, huh?" Cordelia said, "Should let them take you"

"This thing coming for you," Lorne asked, "How bad is it on a scale from one to terminator?"

"It's bad," Eve said, "I don't want to die"

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have been conspiring behind our backs," Cordelia said, "Then we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place"

At that moment, sirens went off. Lorne, Harmony, Eve and Cordelia went to the window, watching as the elevators opened and a well-dressed man stepped out

"Wow, he is well-dressed," Lorne commented, impressed

"That's him," Eve said, "He's coming for me"

A security guard went for the man, but he punched his fist through the guard's chest, ripping his heart out. Lorne, Harmony, Eve and Cordelia promptly screamed. The man headed towards the office, as the group started running. Lorne pressed the elevator button, as the doors burst open and the man walked in. Harmony appeared out of nowhere, her vamp face on, as she attempted to break the man's neck. He grabbed her by the arm and flung her aside, as the elevators opened up. the man headed for Eve, as she got onto the elevator with Lorne. Cordelia kicked the man in the stomach, followed by a punch, but the man caught her fist, then grabbed her arm and threw her along the desk. Cordelia slid off the other side and didn't get up, as the doors closed and the elevator began to descend

††††††††††

Angel, Gunn and Spike dived over the couch, as bullets ripped through it. Lindsey was standing to the side, looking dumbly at his 'wife', until Angel pulled him behind the couch. Spike moved to the front door and flung it open, as the ice-cream trucker driver and mailman opened fire. Bullets tore through Spike's back, as he ducked back inside. Angel kicked the couch into Zac, knocking him down, then charged at Trish, taking bullets to the chest, before knocking her down

"We can't go outside. Camaro's gone," Spike said

"Down to the basement," Gunn said

"You don't want to go down there," Lindsey said

"Only way," Angel said

He headed for the basement, as Trish got up and continuing firing, bullets ridding the basement door as the group had gone through. Angel led the way down into the dark basement and flipped the dim light on. However, they could see all the torture instruments hanging on the walls, as Spike stopped near a bloodied table, picking up a heart from the pile of hearts

"Whose are these?"

"Mine," Lindsey said, "We have to get out of here"

"Only way out through here is through the Wraith," Gunn said

"Wraith? That doesn't sound pleasant," Spike said

"He's here," Lindsey said

A large, hulking demon stepped out of the darkness, wearing leather pants and straps across its shoulders, as well as bracers and a spiked helmet. Angel vamped out, as Spike did the same thing, before grabbing a mace off the wall. Angel lunged at the demon, swinging his fist, but the demon caught it and backhanded him into the wall, as Spike swung the mace. Taking the blow to the face, the demon then struck Spike in the jaw, sending him reeling, before throwing him into the gibbet hanging from the ceiling. Angel grabbed a nearby axe and swung, but the demon ducked and swung its fist, as Angel dodged out of the way and brought the axe overhead, but the demon caught the shaft, before kicking Angel in the stomach, then cracking him in the face with the flat of the blade, just as Spike came in, swinging his fist, then whirling around with a roundhouse kick, only for the demon to dodge the punch, then catch his leg and throw him into the wall. Angel struck the demon in the stomach, followed by a blow to the face, before getting uppercutted through the air. The demon stomped towards Spike, picking him up by his duster, as Spike punched the demon in the face. Angel grabbed a mace and smashed the demon in the back, but got backhanded for his efforts, as the demon slammed Spike against the wall. Spike growled, trying to get out of the demon's grip, as Angel then planted an axe into the demon. It roared, dropping Spike to the ground and turning on Angel. Before the demon could do anything, however, it suddenly stopped. Confused, Angel looked around, his face shifting back to normal when he saw Gunn wearing the necklace

"Gunn, what are you doing?" Angel asked

"I'm just doing what needs to be done," Gunn replied

"You knew all along what to do?"

"I did. Now, you need to go before I forget. I don't know how much time I've got"

The door in the back opened up, revealing the flames burning away. Spike joined Angel, also in his human face, before grabbing Lindsey by the arm

"Gunn, we'll get you out of this," Angel said

He followed after Spike and Lindsey, diving into the flames, as the door closed

"Now, what was I doing?" Gunn asked, "Looking for an oven light bulb"

"Honey, what's taking so long?" came Trish's voice

"Nothing. I've got it," Gunn replied when the demon handed him a bulb

††††††††††

Lorne and Eve reached the car park, as the empath demon went through the cabinet, managing to grab a set of keys and raced off amongst the cars, pressing the locking button and trying to find the owner. Lights flashed, as Lorne got into the driver's side and Eve hopped into the passenger's. Lorne started up the engine as quick as he could, before throwing it into gear and squealing the tyres as he left. However, he didn't get far, as Angel, Spike and Lindsey suddenly appeared, landing on the bonnet. Lorne slammed on the brakes, before hopping out, as Eve rushed to Lindsey's side

"Oh my God, you guys made it," Lorne cried, "Hey, where's Gunn?"

"He stayed behind," Angel said

"I thought we didn't do that. But, Angel, there's this guy chasing Eve and he's very well-dressed and-"

Lorne was cut off when the door burst open and the sharply dressed man walked in

"Damn, he is well dressed," Angel commented

The man saw them and walked towards them with confidence. Angel stood before Eve, ready to protect her, when the man stopped and reached into his jacket – pulling out a pen and a piece of paper, handing them to Eve. She sighed and signed the papers with reluctance, as Angel watched on incredulously

"I thought you said you were going to die"

"And now I will," Eve said

"Hi, I'm Marcus Hamilton," the man said, "I'll be your new liaison to the Senior Partners. Eve here has just signed over to me her immortality and her duties"

"I fell in love," Eve said

"Yes, well, good for you," Hamilton smirked, before turning to Angel, "Look forward to working with you, Angel"

He smiled and walked away, as Eve returned to Lindsey's side

††††††††††

"Ow. Be careful," Spike cried

"Stop being a baby," Cordelia said, removing a bullet, "You'll heal"

"Yeah, well, it still bloody – ow!"

Ignoring his wife and grandchilde, Angel, already patched himself, turned to Lindsey

"Alright, Lindsey, I just pulled you out of hell. Got anything to tell me that will not make me regret my decision?"

"You wanna know about the Senior Partners and the apocalypse?" Lindsey asked

"Which apocalypse? The one last year or the one before that?"

"_The_ Apocalypse. It's the big one. The real deal. And the Senior Partners are pulling all the strings. The wheels have been in motion for a long time, Angel, possibly since you were human. And it's going to happen, whether you like it or not. But here's the fun part: are you sure you're on the right side? I don't think so"

"Anything else?" Angel asked

Lindsey simply shrugged, looking content nuzzled up with Eve

"Don't know. You got the right questions for the answers you need?"

"Don't do the whole Confucius thing," Cordelia said, "It's not gonna work"

"You know, Cordelia, you actually set back the Partners' plan last year with your possession," Lindsey said, "But they got back on track thanks to Angel's decision"

"So, you're saying that Cordy and I started this?" Angel asked

"No, but you've helped it along a bit. Angel, why do you think the Partners gave you this job? They wanted you distracted while they carry the Apocalypse out. They want you blind if you try to fight it and they want you on their side"

"Well, doesn't that sound all cheery?" Spike asked

††††††††††


	23. The Girl in Question

**XXXXXX**

_Two weeks later..._

"Spike, I've got a job for you," Angel said

"Bugger off, do it yourself," Spike replied, playing his Gameboy

It had been two weeks since Angel rescued Lindsey from hell and ever since then, he had seemed to be getting darker and becoming more reclusive, which the others believed was due to influence from Marcus Hamilton. Angel had Lindsey locked away, while Wesley and Cordelia had rescued Gunn from hell. Angel had seemed content to leave Gunn there, so Wesley and Cordelia came up with a plan to rescue their friend. Then, three days later, Angel helped a demon clan called the Fell Brethren to gain hold of an infant child, something which Gunn had tried to prevent, as the Fell Brethren intended to use the infant as a sacrifice in thirteen years time

"I need you to go to Rome and bring back a dead mobster demon's body"

"Not interested. What's so important about this mobster anyway?"

"If we don't bring his body back here for his clan, we'll have a turf war on our hands"

"And still not interested. I don't know the language"

"Get a book"

"Yeah, how do you say 'wank off' in Italian?"

"Spike!"

Just then, Angel's phone rang. He answered it and spoke for a minute, before hanging up

"Who the hell was that?"

"It's Buffy. One of my guys watching her spotted her with the Immortal"

"Oh great, wait til Cordy hears about this," Spike said, "Wait, the Immortal? Hold on, that's definitely his m.o. Take out this mobster guy, lure you to Rome and kill you with Buffy"

"Harm," Angel called on his phone, "I need to go to Rome for maybe a couple of days. Cancel all my meetings"

"I'm coming with you"

"You don't know the language"

"I'll get a book"

"You'll just get in the way"

"Hey, this is Buffy we're talking about. I don't care about you. I only care about her. Also, I owe the Immortal for what he's done to us. To me, I mean"

Angel growled

"Fine"

**XXXXX**

"Hey, Cordy," Harmony called, "Angel's going to Rome for a couple of days"

"Why the hell is he going to Rome – oh god, don't tell me. It's Buffy?"

Harmony shrugged

"Don't know. He didn't say. Just thought I'd let you know"

"Is he still in his office? If he is, I'm gonna stake him"

Cordelia headed towards Angel's office, but the ding of the elevator doors made her stop and turn around – and also made her jaw drop in disbelief

"Hi, honey," Vanessa Chase said

"Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?" Cordelia said

"Just came by to see you," Richard Chase said, "It's been a long time, sweetheart"

"Gee, you don't say"

Richard's smile faded away as he looked between his wife and daughter

"I understand if you don't want to see us. I don't blame you for what happened after the situation with the IRS"

"You abandoned me," Cordelia said, "You have any idea of what's happened to me? I've come close to death so many times and last year, I was even possessed"

"We're very sorry, sweetheart," Vanessa said, "We want to change all that"

"Really? Well, that's very nice to hear, but for the last five years, you haven't called or visited me or even cared about me. So why start now?"

"I don't blame you for this, Cordelia," Richard said, "We probably shouldn't have come here, but we really did want to see you, honey. We really want to make up for it"

"Who are these people, Mom?" Connor asked, arriving next to his mother

"Mom?" Richard questioned, looking between Cordelia and Connor

"It's a long story," Cordelia said, "Connor; I'd like you to meet my parents, Richard and Vanessa Chase, who are also your grandparents. Mom, Dad, this is my son, Connor"

"I think he's a little too old to be your son," Vanessa said, "You're only twenty-three"

"It's a long story. Connor grew up in a hell dimension, where time passes very differently. If you don't believe me, see his birth certificate"

"Hell dimension?" Richard said

"Oh boy," Connor muttered, "This is gonna be good"

"Guess we've got a lot to catch up on," Cordelia said, "Come on"

"You don't say," Vanessa said, looking around the building

**XXXXX**

_Rome, Italy..._

"Well, this should be interesting," Angel said

"Yeah, especially when she sees me," Spike muttered

Angel rolled his eyes and knocked on the door. A moment passed before the door opened and eighteen-year-old Dawn Summers stood before them

"Angel? Spike? Is that really you?"

"Sure is, Nibblet," Spike smirked

"Oh my God, you're alive!"

Dawn squealed and wrapped her arms around Spike's neck. Luckily for him, he didn't have to breathe as Dawn squeezed him tightly, before letting him go

"So, what are you guys doing here?"

"We're here to see Buffy," Angel said

"She's not here, but come on in"

Angel and Spike tried to enter at the same time, but got stuck in the doorway. After glaring at each other, they entered the apartment, just as Andrew entered into the living room

"Oh, hello and welcome"

"Andrew," Angel said, "What are you doing here?"

"Had a small incident with a fire at my apartment. I didn't have anything to do with it, but Buffy and Dawn are letting me crash here"

"Where did Buffy go?" Spike asked, "She's being chased by the Immortal"

"She was," Dawn said, sitting down, "They're now dating"

"What?!" Angel cried

"You didn't know? It took her a long time to get over you, Spike, but she still loves you," Dawn said, "She really does. She wasn't just saying it. She meant it"

Spike sat down to process this new information. Buffy had actually loved him. _Him_. Trying to prevent the tears, Spike looked around the apartment, seeing several photographs on the mantel. He headed over for a closer look, seeing photos of Buffy posing with a newborn baby

"Buffy has a kid?"

"Yeah, she has a baby girl," Andrew replied, "Her name is Emily"

"She the Immortal's kid?"

Dawn bit her lower lip and shared a look with Andrew before answering,

"She's yours, Spike. Emily is your daughter with Buffy"

Spike whirled around, confusion etched all over his face

"You serious? Vampires can't have kids, except for Peaches here, but you're telling me that little girl in the photos with the Slayer is my kid?"

"Yeah, she is," Dawn replied, "We've proven it. Buffy did a DNA test"

"I have to see her," Spike said, "I have to see them both"

"Well, Buffy has already gone out, but Emily is asleep," Andrew said, "You can see her"

"Spike, try not to be too long," Angel said, "We've got a body to get"

"Yeah, yeah, hold your panties," Spike said, "Now, where's my little girl?"

**XXXXX**

_One hour later..._

Angel and Spike walked into the nightclub, heading towards the bar. Spike was carrying a bag that contained the head of the mobster demon. Accordingly to the caretaker, the head had to be returned to the clan so he could be reborn. After gaining the head, Angel and Spike had headed to the nightclub where Buffy and the Immortal had apparently gone to. Spike had also seen his daughter for the very first time and when he did, he had felt a surge of love and pride in his chest. Now, he wanted to talk to Buffy about their daughter

"I see her," Angel said, "Out there"

"Alright, let's go talk to her," Spike said

"How are you gonna do it? Just walk out there and go 'hi Buffy, I'm back from the dead and I wanna talk about our daughter'. Real smooth"

"Look, I'll just do whatever comes to me, alright? Who knows, we might hook up again or maybe she's happier with the Immortal, but I gotta give it a shot"

"Wait, where's the head?"

"You had it"

Angel and Spike looked back to the bar, seeing that the bag was gone and currently in the hands of a demonic servant. He was heading for the exit, but Angel and Spike managed to appear in front of him a second later

"Where do you think you're going?" Spike asked

"Anywhere he wants," a demonically possessed human said

Several more demons possessing humans and wearing sharp suits surrounded the vampires, as the servant left with a smile

"Can't we talk about this?" Angel asked, just as a fist crashed into his face

**XXXXX**


	24. Don't Lose Your Head

**XXXXXX**

"Okay, so you're half-demon, your son grew up in a hell dimension, you also have a daughter," Vanessa said, "And you've married their father, who is a vampire with a soul, you also get visions from the Powers That Be and now you run Wolfram and Hart, which is an evil law firm for humans and demons alike. Did I miss anything?"

"No, I think you got it all," Cordelia said, "Pretty crazy huh? But it's all true"

"We believe you, dear," Richard said, "I never would have imagined you doing any of these things, but you have. So, uh, where's our granddaughter?"

"Right this way. Running this place takes up a lot of our time, so I've had to place her in day-care. Luckily, it's in this building, so I can still check up on her"

Cordelia and her parents reached the day-care office, as Ashleigh saw her mother and got up from her colouring-in book to run into her arms. Cordelia smiled as she picked her daughter up and planted a kiss on her cheek

"Ash, honey, I've got some people I'd like you to meet," Cordelia said, "Ashleigh, these are your grandparents. Mom, Dad, this is Ashleigh, my little girl"

"Nice to meet you," Richard said

Ashleigh shied away, hiding her face into Cordelia's neck, as Cordelia chuckled

"Ah, she's shy. Don't worry; she might warm up to you"

"I can't believe we've missed out on so much," Vanessa said

"Yeah, well, that tends to happen," Cordelia said

"So, um, anywhere else you'd like to show us?" Richard asked

"Yeah, okay. Come, I'll show you the laboratory"

Cordelia set her daughter down, as she headed back into the office, before heading off with her parents towards the laboratory, emotions swirling around inside her. She still couldn't believe that her parents were here right now, actually acting like normal parents. Shaking her head, Cordelia continued on towards the laboratory

**XXXXXX**

Angel's head snapped around, as Spike lunged at the demon, taking him down, then punching the demon nearest to him. Angel ducked a punch and struck the demon in the ribs, knocking him down with a blow to the jaw, as Spike kicked a demon in the face. He then spun around, swinging his fist – straight into Angel's jaw. The older vampire glared and punched Spike in the face. Anger flashed on both vampires' faces and they swung their fists at each other at the same time – recoiling back to hold their sore noses

"What the hell?" Angel demanded

"I was confused!" Spike cried, "Where is that squeaker?"

"There!"

Angel and Spike ran outside, just as the demon servant drove past in their rental car, waving at them as he went. Spike started up a nearby moped and brought it over to Angel

"Hop on, little mama"

"I'm not getting on that thing"

"He's getting away!"

Angel sighed and got on the back, circling his arms around Spike's waist, as the blond vampire took off after the car. However, they weren't going very fast, so Spike took a detour through a small alley, coming out onto a street, just as the servant rounded the corner and ran them down, before backing up and driving away

"That's it," Angel cried, "I've had enough. We need resources, SWAT teams, helicopters"

"Doesn't Wolfram and Hart have an office in Rome?" Spike asked

**XXXXXX**

"Ah, welcome to Wolfram and Hart," the busty, willowy vampire cried in a thick, Italian accent, "I am Ilona Costa Branci and I'm here to help you in any way possible"

"Look, we're here for a demon mobster's head and-" Angel started

"Ah, yes, the head. We know all about it. We know everything there is to know in Rome. We have already received the ransom note for the head"

Ilona handed Angel a note and he read it, before crushing it in his hand

"Well, we're gonna need helicopters and SWAT"

"No, no, no, no. No. Here in Rome, we pay the money. Prago, gracia, kiss, kiss. We already have the money ready to go. Here, pay the ransom"

Ilona grinned as she handed Spike the suitcase of money and he left with Angel

**XXXXXX**

"I can't believe Buffy is with the Immortal," Spike said, "Of all people. And he's with my daughter. That miserable bastard. Always taking from us"

"Yeah, I remember the last time I was here," Angel said, "1894. That wasn't a good time. He had us whipped and chained and violated our women"

"Concurrently. Which was a shame, cause they never let us do that"

"I honestly have no idea why everyone thinks he's so special"

"Maybe it's the cut of his trousers?"

The servant got out of a nearby car, holding the bag containing the demon's head, as several other demons piled out of the nearby cars, surrounding Angel and Spike

"You know what," Angel said, "I'm getting a little bored of this"

"I know what you mean," Spike said

They spun around, taking down two demons, before fighting against the rest of the demons. When they turned to the servant, he had a gun aimed at the bag, just as Angel threw a punch over his shoulder, taking down a demon

"Now, you give us the money, we'll give you the head," the servant said

Spike grumbled and handed the servant the suitcase, before taking the bag, as the demons picked themselves up and left with the servant

"Don't believe a single word he said," Spike said, opening the bag

Angel peered over his shoulder, seeing the bomb counting down. The vampires continued watching as the timer reached zero. When the explosion went off, the cars carrying the servant and demons were destroyed, as Angel and Spike made their way through the destruction, both burnt from the explosion, while Spike was holding his tattered coat

"Been wearing this for thirty years and look at what he's done to it"

"You took it from the body of a Slayer"

"Which gives it sentimental value. It's a part of who I am. I'll never get over this!"

**XXXXXX**

"Yeah, this is good," Spike grinned, trying on the new trench coat

"That's great," Ilona said, "We're shipping another ten for you to Los Angeles"

Angel entered the room, wearing a loud sports jacket

"Oh, it looks bellisimo," Ilona cried, "So perfect. It's the latest fashion. So, how'd it go? Prago, gracia, kiss, kiss?"

"Prago, gracia, ka-boom," Angel replied

"Oh, they always do this to first-timers. I didn't say that? Well, I hope you've had a wonderful time here and I hope we'll see you soon"

Ilona ushered Angel and Spike out of her office and shut the doors

"Sick of this place?" Angel asked

"Can't get me out of this place fast enough," Spike replied

**XXXXXX**

"Well, it was nice seeing you, honey," Richard said, getting onto the elevator, "I hope we get to see you again"

"You know what, I'm kinda looking forward to it," Cordelia smiled

"I can't believe at how much you've grown," Vanessa said, "And how much we've missed. But we are trying to make things better. I hope you understand that"

"Don't worry, Mom, I understand"

Vanessa smiled and hugged Cordelia, before joining her husband on the elevator, as the doors closed and the elevator descended. Cordelia smiled to herself, as Connor joined her

"Well, that wasn't so bad, was it, Mom?"

"No, not at all. Heard anything from your father?"

"No, not yet"

"Okay then. Any assignments or exams you should be working on?"

Connor sighed and headed off, as Cordelia smiled, watching him go

**XXXXXX**

Angel and Spike entered the office, seeing the bag on the desk. Angel headed over, opening the bag and seeing the demon's head inside, before picking up the note. Upon leaving the Roman Wolfram and Hart branch, the pair headed back to Dawn's apartment, but to Spike's disappointment, Buffy hadn't returned home yet. Believing he wouldn't be able to see Buffy again, Spike had decided to return to Los Angeles

"With regards, the Immortal," he read, before tearing the note up, "I. Really. Hate. That. Guy"

"Let's face it, he got another one over us again," Spike said, "No surprises there"

"Yeah, I know," Angel said, sitting on his desk, "So, you gonna head back to Rome?"

"No. Not just yet. Whatever's happening here is more important. Even if I've got a child who's never met me. Perhaps afterwards when everything goes down and I'm not dust"

**XXXXXX**


	25. Circle of the Black Thorn

**And so it begins, the end is coming. Enjoy!**

**XXXXXX**

_A symbol on a wall. Flames roaring. Angel leapt through, seeing the person being whipped by masked people in robes. They stopped, as Angel removed the bag from the whipped person, then he vamped out and sank his fangs into the person's throat..._

**19 hours earlier...**

Angel was lying in bed, one arm behind his head. He was so close to finishing what he had started, he wasn't sure about the end result. He had an idea of what would happen, but it was an idea he didn't want to entertain. And yet, it seemed to be the only way out. Sighing, he got out of bed and got dressed for the day, heading to his office and checking the list of clients

"It's nearly time, Angel," Marcus Hamilton said, walking in

"Yeah, thanks, Hamilton," Angel replied with a weary sigh

"I hope you're not reconsidering. After all the things-"

"All the things that I've done to lead me to this. I don't regret it. It's what I want"

"That's good then. Can't wait until later. Til then"

Hamilton smiled and left the office, as Angel sighed and sat at his desk, going through the list

**XXXXXX**

"Cordelia," Wesley said, "Have you noticed anything different?"

"You've shaved?" Cordelia replied, "You're wearing a new aftershave?"

"No, I mean with Angel. He's become more...distant I should say. And darker"

"Well, yeah I have noticed, but what can I say? I don't know if it's this place that's getting to him, cause it's getting to all of us"

"It is a bit of a worry," Wesley said, "I fear he's getting worse"

"Let's just hope it's this place and nothing else," Cordelia said

"Perhaps we should talk with him. You and I know him best"

"True. But I think the others have noticed as well. Can't leave them out of this"

"Very well then, I'll ask them and then we'll talk with Angel"

"Sounds like a date"

**XXXXXX**

_One hour later..._

"Angel, we need to talk," Wesley said

"Oh really and what about, Wes?" Angel asked, "Also, why are all of you here?"

He was sitting at his desk, staring at Wesley, Cordelia, Lorne, Fred, Gunn and Spike

"We're a little concerned about your behaviour of late," Cordelia said

"My behaviour? There's nothing wrong with my behaviour," Angel said

"You're changing," Gunn said, "We've all noticed it. You're not the same"

"Same could be said for you, Gunn. But the truth is, my eyes are finally open. I understand how everything runs around here. I know what influences things"

"Oh yeah and what's that?" Spike asked

"Power," Angel replied, "It's about power. You know, an ant, despite all the power it has, is still just an ant. It's power that drives our desires and needs and until I have real power, global power, I will never be satisfied"

"So, what about the rest of us then?" Lorne asked

"The rest of you? It's not in my interest, let's put it that way. You guys are all holding me back and so I suggest you all leave before I do something irrational about it"

The group left the room, as Angel leaned back in his chair, but then Cordelia stopped and turned around, before marching up to the desk

"You know, you're an ass. This place has corrupted you and-"

"It hasn't corrupted me, Cordy," Angel said, "It's open my eyes. I know now what I need"

"I'm guessing me or our children aren't a part of that," Cordelia said

"It appears that way. Sorry"

He didn't sound very sorry about it, as Cordelia stormed from the room and slammed the door shut on her way out, causing everyone to jump in shock

"Come on, we've got a prisoner to interrogate"

Within moments, they were in the interrogating room with Lindsey chained to the table

"So, what's all this about then?" he smirked

"It's about Angel and what's happening to him," Gunn replied

"Ah, so he's finally found them, huh?"

"Found who?" Cordelia demanded

"The Circle of the Black Thorn. They're a secret society"

"Never heard of them," Gunn said

"That's because they're secret," Lindsey replied, "The Circle of the Black Thorn is the Senior Partners' most elite. They're the ones who are running this Apocalypse. They're the ones who keep the gears greased"

"What's so special about this Circle?" Spike asked, "Sounds like a sewing club for pirates"

"Being a member of the Circle is like being the Partners' right-hand man. Doesn't get any better than that. You have power beyond anything you can imagine. But, you can only be a member if you've killed someone close to you"

"So that's why you came back," Wesley said, "To kill Angel and become a member"

"But Angel hasn't killed anyone close to him," Cordelia said

"Not yet," Lindsey said, "But I'd watch your backs. All of you. Cause Angel, sounds like he's doing anything he can to join the Circle"

**XXXXXX**

"It's all crazy talk," Spike said, "But Lindsey didn't seem like he was lying"

They were all at Spike's apartment, Connor having joined them after school

"There's nothing to gain for Lindsey to lie," Wesley said, "At much as it pains me, I believe he's telling the truth"

"So, what now, we head over and ask him?" Gunn suggested

"It's the only way. We'll have to do our best. Cordy, you coming?"

"No, I'm staying," Cordelia replied, "I don't really want to see him"

"Well, you hang tight and we'll be right back," Spike said

He left with Lorne, Wesley, Gunn and Fred, as Cordelia sighed and flopped down onto the couch with Connor. Five minutes later, the door flew off its hinges, as Hamilton stepped in

"What the hell are you doing here?" Cordelia demanded, getting to her feet

"Home service," Hamilton smirked

"You get the hell out of here," Connor said

"Or what?"

Connor swung his fist, but Hamilton caught his fist and threw him across the room, knocking him unconscious when he slammed into the wall. Cordelia punched Hamilton in the face, followed by a spinning backhand, then a side kick, but Hamilton blocked the kick and punched Cordelia in the face, staggering her. She recovered and swung her fist, but Hamilton parried and threw her against the wall. Getting to her feet, Cordelia ducked Hamilton's fist and punched him in the ribs, before rising and swinging, but Hamilton blocked and grabbed her by the throat, before punching her in the face

"Who would've thought a half-demon seer could bleed so easily? Guess you're just not so cool," Hamilton said, punching Cordelia repeatedly

Dropping her to the ground, Hamilton stomped on her face, knocking her unconscious

**XXXXXX**

**Now...**

Angel looked at the symbol on the wall and leapt through the flames, as the robed whippers stepped back. Angel looked at the female body hunched on the ground, scraps of clothing covering her modesty, as blood ran from her back. Angel lifted her up to her feet and removed the bag from her head, as Cordelia focused her eyes on him

"Angel? Oh, thank God"

Angel vamped out and sank his fangs into her throat. As he felt her heartbeat get slower, Angel withdrew his fangs, before snapping Cordelia's neck and dropping her body. Resuming his human face, Angel looked around, as the room lit up and more robed people appeared, all removing their masks. Most of them Angel recognised, including Cyvus Vail, Archduke Sebassis and Senator Helen Brucker

"Well done, Angel," cried Izziel the devil, "You are now a member of the Black Thorn. We welcome you, brother, into our fold"

**XXXXXX**

_Two hours later..._

Angel returned to the empty Wolfram and Hart building, heading to his office, as he rubbed the right side of his chest in pain where the Circle had branded him. He entered his office, as Spike suddenly appeared and punched him. Angel staggered, before seeing Gunn holding a sword, Wesley aiming his shotgun, while Lorne and Fred both had crossbows

"What's going on?" Angel asked

"We know what you've been doing," Gunn said

"That's too bad. Now, get out of here before I kill you all"

"Then it seems we have a problem," Wesley said, cocking his shotgun

"That we do," Angel replied

He knocked Wesley aside, before kicking Gunn in the stomach, then whirling around and backhanded Spike, knocking him down, as Lorne and Fred fired. Angel caught one bolt, before taking the second in his shoulder. Growling, he marched towards the pair, punching Gunn, then grabbing Lorne into a choke hold

"Now we finish this," Angel said, before pulling out a jewel, "_Involvere"_

**XXXXXX**

**Fun, fun, fun :)**


	26. The Insider

**XXXXXX**

"Okay, we have only six minutes," Angel said, letting Lorne go and stepping aside

"Til what?" Gunn asked

"Until the glamour collapses. As far as anyone outside this room is concerned, we're all at each other's throats"

"What's going on?" Fred asked

"Everything you've heard, everything you think you know, it's all a lie," Angel explained, "I've seen the faces of evil and I know who they are"

"Angel, I think you're confusing us," Wesley said

"The Circle of Black Thorn is the most powerful, most influential group in the world. They're the ones running this Apocalypse for the Senior Partners. I didn't know about it until I received a vision from Cordelia. That told me about them, but I couldn't see their faces. So I did what I had to do in order to get into their little circle"

"Well, that explains why you've been making deals with the bad guys," Gunn said

"The Senior Partners are eternal. They live because of us. They exist because of us, because of the evil that is in our hearts"

"Should I aim my crossbow at him?" Lorne asked, "He might start talking about ants again"

"If we were to wipe out the Circle, we could bring the Partners' plans to a grinding halt," Angel said, "It might not be long, but for one moment, we'll be able to show them they don't own us. But this is a fight were you most likely won't survive. Chances are, when the smoke clears, we'll be the ones dead. I know I'm in this fight, but I can't make that decision for you. I'm talking about killing every single member of the Black Thorn. You have to decide if that's worth dying for"

Angel looked around at his friends. He had asked so much from them over the years and now he was asking one last thing from them. And this time, they could all die. After a few moments, Spike raised his hand. Then Wesley. Then Fred. Gunn raised his hand and Lorne was the last one to offer his life

"So, we're in?" Angel said

"Yeah, one big Manson family," Spike replied

"When do we move?" Wesley asked, picking up his shotgun

"Soon," Angel said, "For now, keep up the infighting. The Circle needs to believe that we're coming apart at the seams"

"So, what about Connor and Cordelia?" Gunn asked, "They're joining us?"

"Cordelia's dead," Angel replied

Shock swept throughout everyone. Their friend was dead? Cordelia?

"And how do you know that, Kreskin?" Spike asked

"Because I killed her"

"What?"

Angel punched Spike in the face

"You son of a-"

Spike swung, but Angel ducked and grabbed him in a chokehold, as Hamilton walked in

"Didn't know you were having a...conference"

"Meeting's over, in case you didn't hear me," Angel said, shoving Spike

The group left the office, as Angel sat down at his desk

"Your friends are concerned"

"They don't matter"

"No, not them. Your new ones. They want to see you. No rest for the wicked"

**XXXXXX**

"Is Angel serious?" Fred asked, "Did he really kill Cordelia?"

"He said it, didn't he?" Wesley said, "God, I hope not, but it sounds like he did"

They walked into Spike's apartment and got the biggest shock of their life. Cordelia Chase-Angel was sitting on the couch with a small smile on her face, while Connor was standing in the kitchen. Cordelia's hair had suddenly grown past her shoulders and she was wearing a midriff top with long, flowing black pants and a long, purple-black flowing coat

"Cordelia?" Lorne cried, "Angel said you were dead. He said he killed you"

"He did," Cordelia replied, "Sort of. Remember those cyborgs that attacked Wolfram and Hart several months ago?"

"Of course," Wesley replied, remembering the incident all too well

"Well, I managed to capture one. See, I had a vision that Angel was going to join the Circle of the Black Thorn and that he was going to sacrifice me. After he got the vision, I told him more about it and we made a plan. Meanwhile, my department were studying the cyborg we'd captured and we managed to duplicate me"

"So, you switched places?" Spike asked, "The Cordelia we've known for months and who was killed by Angel was actually a cyborg in disguise?"

"It was very convincing," Wesley admitted, "When did you switch?"

"Sometime during Axtius' attack on Wolfram and Hart," Cordelia replied, "So while cyborg me was running around, I've been preparing us for this day"

"God, I can't believe this is all true," Lorne said, "I've gone through too much. I think I need to sit down. I think I need a seabreeze"

Connor handed him a glass and Lorne drank it

"So, what do you know?" Wesley asked, sitting down

"We're gonna get turned into minced meat," Cordelia replied

**XXXXXX**

"Of the world's woe now convene," chanted the group at the table, "All is bound by the circle and its thorns. Invisible, inviolate, we, the seeds of the storm, at the centre of the world's woe, now convene"

"The Circle doesn't abide secrets," Archduke Sebassis said

"Which is funny for a secret organisation," Angel replied

"Your friends tried to kill you. An embarrassing effort to say the least"

"My people aren't the problem"

"Not all of them"

"Who didn't make the cut?"

"We're interested in Mr. Wyndam-Pryce," Cyvus grinned

"Charles Gunn, on the other hand, didn't make it," Senator Brucker said, "Which is a shame. He has so much potential"

"They're not the problem, however," Sebassis said

"If the next words out of your mouth are 'kill Spike', we might have to kiss," Angel said

"Spike isn't the problem. You are"

Cyvus was about to say something, but then Sebassis' blinded servant got tangled in Cyvus' gurney. Angel leaned over and slapped the servant in the chest, knocking him away from the gurney, before fixing annoyed eyes on Sebassis

"So, what's the problem then?"

"There is the matter of the Shanshu prophecy," Cyvus said

"The vampire with a soul will avert the apocalypse and regain his humanity," Brucker said

Izziel unfolded the scroll before Angel

"The original prophecy?"

"The very one. Though your signature, the prophecy can be undone. A foolish person will think you're trying to gain your reward"

"I have no intention of regaining my humanity," Angel said, despite himself

"Oh good. Then there should be no problem signing that pesky prophecy away"

Angel reached for a pen, but Izziel stabbed the pen into Angel's hand

"It's gotta be signed in blood"

Ignoring the pain, Angel removed the pen and signed his name on the prophecy

**XXXXXX**

"Man, this is all messed up," Gunn said, "I can't believe this is happening"

"We've faced worst odds than this before," Wesley said

"Not like this. Not where the odds of us surviving are slim to none"

"Guys, I know you're worried," Cordelia said, "But I'm with Angel. All the way. We may not bring down evil completely, but for one shining moment, we can stop it"

"Well, we all know I'm fine," Spike said, "This is my kinda fight. How about you, kid?"

"I'm with my parents," Connor said, "I'm not backing out"

"Good kid"

At that moment, Angel walked into the apartment. He had just assigned Harmony with the mission of distracting Hamilton, then had been speaking with Lindsey about the upcoming battle with the Circle of the Black Thorn. After discussing their positions for some time, Lindsey had offered to join the fight against the Black Thorn and Angel accepted

"Cordelia. You're looking good," Angel said

"You know, hiding away while my friends are in danger is something I don't like doing," Cordelia said, "I got away from that in Sunnydale. And I didn't like the me dying part, but thankfully, that was a pretty good decoy"

"Don't worry, it's over, we've fooled them"

"Oh good," Gunn said, "I was hoping you didn't need our dead bodies as proof"

"They won't," Angel said, "We're killing them all tonight. But first, I want you all to do one last thing for me. For yourselves. Take the day off"

"What do you mean?" Wesley said

"Live this day like it's your last. Cause it probably will be"

**XXXXXX**

**Yes, Cordelia isn't dead. I figured that if the cyborgs from 'Lineage' could duplicate Roger Pryce really well, why not Cordelia? Next chapter: everyone lives their last day**


	27. One Last Day

**XXXXXX**

Lorne entered the bar and ordered himself a seabreeze. As he sipped it, he thought about Angel's words and what was happening tonight. He knew that today could be his last day ever on Earth and he wanted to make the most of it. Spying the stage, Lorne made his way over and sat on the stool, before adjusting the mike. Within moments, everyone's eyes were on him, as he began to hum and sing

"Oh if I ruled the world, every day would be the first day of spring..."

**XXXXXX**

"I'm scared"

Wesley gave Fred a small smile and pulled her into his arms as she held him tightly

"If it's any comfort, I'm scared too. But not much"

"Of course. You and your machismo," Fred smiled, then the smile faded, "Will we die?"

"Most likely," Wesley said, "Given what we're up against, it's most likely. But then again, I had no intention of dying tonight and so hopefully, I won't"

"I'm worried about you, Wesley"

"I know and I'm worried about you too, though I think you'll be fine. I believe Angel will try and make sure you're not part of this fight"

"How can I not be?" Fred said, "How can I stand aside while my friends are getting killed?"

"Fred, your part in this fight probably won't be in the actual fight itself. But when the smoke clears and if I'm still alive, I'll come back for you"

Fred smiled and kissed Wesley on the lips. He pulled her close to him, crushing his lips to hers, as her hands snaked around his neck. They soon broke apart, gasping for breath, as Fred eyed the bed and gave Wesley a wicked smile

"It's our last day on Earth, isn't it?" she said, "Let's make the most of it"

Wesley smiled as Fred led him to the bed

**XXXXXX**

"Nice crowd," Spike said when a biker bumped into him

"Yeah, it can get pretty nasty in here," the bartender replied, refilling Spike's shot glass

"What I'm after," Spike said, downing the shot of whiskey, "A few more shots of courage and I might make my presence known

"Your funeral"

"Well, I never had a proper one"

_Five minutes later..._

"My soul is wrapped in harsh repose. Midnight descends in raven-coloured clothes, but soft...behold. A sunlight beam cutting a swath of glimmering gleam. My heart expands, tis grown a bulge in it. Inspired by your beauty...effulgent"

Spike closed his eyes, waiting for the response. It had been over a hundred and twenty years since he last read that poem and when he had, he had been ridiculed by all his peers, which had led him to being sired by Drusilla. But to his utmost surprise, all the bikers rose up and gave him a huge round of applause

"Thank you," Spike beamed, his grin stretching from ear to ear at his success, "That was for Cecily. The next one's called 'The Wanton Folly of Me Mum'"

**XXXXXX**

"This is nice," Angel said, "Sunlight's not too bright, not many people"

"Relax, Angel," Cordelia said, now dressed in casual clothes, "We'll be fine"

"Yeah, I guess we will be"

Angel was also dressed in casual clothes, carrying Ashleigh on his hip with ease, as Cordelia found a table and sat down, before signalling a waiter for some coffee

"You know, I like your long hair," Angel said, "I'm glad you grew it out"

"Well, it's gonna be getting in the way while I'm fighting, but I wanted long hair," Cordelia smiled, "Figured I gotta look good if it's gonna be my last day"

"And you look beautiful. Then again, you always do"

"But there's nothing wrong with hearing a compliment or two"

Angel smiled at his wife, feeling for the first time that a weight had been lifted from his chest. After all these years of fighting and feeling the weariness on his shoulders, Angel knew that perhaps after tonight, he could get some peace, hopefully far away from the Partners with his family. If that didn't get to happen, at least he would be able to spend his last day with his family and he was enjoying every moment of it

"You know, this is nice," Cordelia said, "When was the last time we did something like this? Just go out somewhere with just us?"

"When Connor was a baby, I think," Angel replied, "That was a long time ago, though"

"Where is Connor? Why isn't he here with us?"

"He's with Nina. Come on, Cordy, he's eighteen. Too old to hang out with us"

Cordelia smiled and leaned across the table to kiss Angel

"I wanna go in there," Ashleigh cried

Angel broke away from Cordelia and picked his daughter up, before taking her over to the ball court. Cordelia joined her husband, wrapping an arm around his waist, as his arm came around her shoulders and together, they watched their daughter play in the ball court

**XXXXXX**

"Hey, Anne," Gunn grinned

"Charles," Anne Steele cried, giving her friend a hug

"Packing things up?"

"Just moving some things down the street. Got a new shelter. Bigger and we also have a part-time psychiatrist, to help with all the new runaways"

"You seen Rondell and the boys? I dropped around there earlier but they weren't there"

"Oh, they said they'd be here to help. Still got vamp trouble, but they help out"

She and Gunn moved some boxes onto the truck, as Gunn paused with a thoughtful look

"Charles, what is it?" Anne asked

"What if I told you that there were forces more powerful than you could ever imagine? And that they will never let things ever get better down here. What would you do?"

"I'd get this truck loaded before the new stuff arrives," Anne replied, "Wanna help?"

Gunn smiled, having found the answer he was looking for, and helped Anne lift up the couch and move it onto the truck

**XXXXXX**

"So, the end of the world is coming?" Nina asked

"Well, not really," Connor replied, "Well, I guess so. I'm not too sure about that. All I know is that today could be my very last day on Earth"

"So why aren't you out there with your parents?"

"They understand. I'm nearly an adult. I don't need to be around them all the time. This is my life and this is how I choose to spend my last day: with you"

"Isn't that sweet?" Nina said

She smiled and leaned in, kissing Connor on the lips. He pressed back against her lips, before suddenly pulling away, as a confused look crossed her face

"Connor, what's wrong?"

"Nina, there's something I want you to do. When the day is done, I want you to get your family and get out of this city, okay?"

"Connor, I don't want to leave you. Especially if this fight is going down"

"Look, if I lose this fight, it's all over for the world. This fight is important, but you can't be a part of it," Connor said, "Promise me you'll leave Los Angeles"

"Okay, I promise," Nina said

"You're one of the best things that's happened to me, Nina. I love you"

"I love you too"

Connor pulled Nina close and kissed her passionately on the lips

**XXXXXX**


	28. The Assassination Begins

**XXXXXX**

"This may come out as a little pretentious," Angel said, "But tonight, one of you will betray me"

Spike's hand shot up not even a split second later

"Wesley?"

"Oh," Spike moaned, "Can I deny you three times?" he added hopefully

"Cyvus Vail believes you'll make a play for my spot," Angel said to Wesley, ignoring Spike

"That's not very flattering," Wesley said

"Connor, Izziel the devil and three followers dine together every night," Angel said

"They'll be taken care of," Connor said

"Cordelia, you and Lindsey will be taking care of the Sahrvin demons"

"Can't believe you brought him into this," Wesley muttered

"He's a part of this," Angel said, "It'll be just as dangerous for him as it will be for the rest of our team. Lorne, you and Fred will be escorting Ashleigh out of here. Protect her at all costs"

"You got it, fearless leader," Lorne said

"Gunn, your friend, Senator Brucker, has a campaign office in West L.A. You know she's pure hellspawn and she tends to surround herself with vampires"

"I was hoping for vamps," Gunn said, "Haven't dusted nearly enough this year. No offence," he said to Spike

"None taken"

"Spike," Angel said

"Right," Spike said, getting to his feet, "First off, I'm not wearing any amulets. No bracelets, brooches, beads, pendants, pins or rings"

"Okay. All you need is a rattle"

"Ah, the baby"

"And the Fell Brethren. I want the kid returned to its mother and the foster family dismembered"

"Done and done," Spike said with a gleam in his eyes

"Archduke Sebassis has forty thousand at his disposal. He's the leader, so he's mine," Angel said, "Alright, you all know what to do. Anyone who survives, meet in the alley north of the Hyperion. Now go"

"Wow, day went fast," Gunn said

He shook hands with Wesley and left the apartment, as Lorne shrugged on his overcoat and followed after Wesley and Fred. However, the ex-Watcher stopped at the door and shared a look with Angel, before leaving with his girlfriend. Cordelia pulled Connor into a hug and left, shooting Angel a look that said see-you-soon

"So, if we make it through, one of us gets to be a real boy," Spike said

"Are you kidding? None of us are gonna make it," Angel said

"Well, as long as it's not you"

**XXXXXX**

"What makes you think I won't kill you where you sit?" Cyvus Vail asked, sipping his soup

"You're right to have your suspicions about Angel," Wesley replied, "He's unpredictable and worse, he has a soul"

"You make a very persuasive argument"

"Wait, it gets better"

A fireball appeared in Wesley's hand, as he waited for the right moment to use it

**XXXXXX**

Gunn walked into Senator Brucker's office, as a vampire growled and went for him, but Gunn ducked and swung his fist into the vampire's stomach, doubling him over, then punching him in the face, before punching another vampire in the jaw. Senator Brucker was on the phone and didn't seem to take notice of the fight or wasn't worried about it

**XXXXXX**

Izziel the devil and his three followers left the restaurant together, heading towards their car and getting in, strapping on their seatbelts, as the driver turned the car on, before turning on the headlights. Izziel looked up, seeing Connor standing before the car, a sword in hand. Connor grinned evilly, a killing look in his eyes

**XXXXXX**

"Harmony, where's Hamilton?" Angel asked, walking into the empty building

"In records. Been keeping him busy like you asked," Harmony replied

"Good, make sure he stays that way. Get my car ready too"

"Okie-dokie boss"

Angel headed into his office, before taking the elevator to his penthouse. Once there, Angel headed to a small thin box, before opening it and taking out the thin, curved knife

"Going out?"

Angel whirled around to see Hamilton standing across the room

"Why, you want to order in?"

"I heard you've already got plans. Taking that to see Sebassis? Now, why don't I think that's a small gift?" Hamilton said, standing before Angel

Angel looked at the knife, before slashing at Hamilton, but he was faster, punching Angel in the face, then grabbing him and throwing him out the window. Angel crashed through another window, before landing heavily in the lobby

"Oh my God," Harmony cried, "I didn't mean it, I mean, he's not my boyfriend"

"Drop the act, Harm," Angel said, getting up

"This isn't an act. I really am this scared"

"I knew you'd turn on me, I just didn't know when"

"What do you mean, you knew?"

"Loyalty really isn't high on your list"

"I'll have you know, I'm damn loyal, dumb-ass!"

"You betrayed me. You're betraying me now even as we speak"

"Because you never had any confidence in me," Harmony cried

"No, it's because you have no soul," Angel replied

"I would if you had confidence in me"

"Get out of the building"

"Are you firing me?"

"Amongst other things, yes"

"Can I get a recommendation?"

"Sure"

"But, if you don't so much as live as the other thing"

"It's in the desk"

"You're the best!"

Harmony hurried to her desk and grabbed her belongings, before getting the letter of recommendation from the desk, as Hamilton entered the lobby and closed the gap, standing within reach of Angel, as Harmony looked between them

"May the best man win"

**XXXXXX**

Cyvus Vail flew across the room, sliding along the floor, as Wesley stood before him, charging up another fireball in his palm

"Your time has come to an end. The rest of the Circle will wither and die"

"You have no idea who you're dealing with, do you?" Cyvus asked, sucking Wesley's fireball into his hand and crushing it, "I mean, I crap better magic than that. Now, boy, let me show you what a real wizard can do"

Cyvus flicked his hand and Wesley went flying. Raising his hand up, Cyvus brought Wesley into the air, before bringing him close, holding him in mid-air

"Did you really think you could win this? I mean, I can bend the very fabric of reality to my will. Your parlour trick could never kill me, boy"

"Well, I'll just have to do it the old fashioned way," Wesley groaned

He flicked out a pocketknife and stabbed, but Cyvus caught his wrist

"Yes, I suppose we will"

Summoning a large knife to his hand, Cyvus then plunged it into Wesley's abdomen, twisting the blade as Wesley grunted in pain. He summoned another fireball and blasted Cyvus across the room, before falling on his back, then started to crawl towards his bag that he had left by the door when he arrived. Cyvus slowly got to his feet, before heading towards Wesley, just as he reached his bag and reached inside

"You don't stand a chance, boy," Cyvus growled

"Really?"

Wesley pulled out his shotgun and placed the barrel under Cyvus' chin, before pulling the trigger, shattering Cyvus' head like a rotten watermelon. Wesley dropped the shotgun, as Cyvus' headless collapsed. Holding a hand to his wound, Wesley knew that it was fatal and he only had a few minutes left to live

_"Fred, I love you"_

**XXXXXX**


	29. Angel vs Hamilton

**Here's a double update that will finish the story off. Enjoy**

**XXXXXX**

The baby wriggled in its cot, as a heavily-robbed figure stood before him

"Hello, junior," Spike said, "The name's Spike. And luckily for you, I'm on a strict diet"

Spike picked the baby up and turned around, seeing three Fell Brethren demons

"Put the holy vessel back in the bassinet"

Spike looked at the baby, who seemed to shake his head. Sighing, Spike shrugged off the robes, as the first Fell Brethren lunged. Dodging him, Spike elbowed him in the back, before swinging his sword to block a blow, then swinging it back and slashing another Fell Brethren across the stomach

**XXXXXX**

A Sahrvin demon went to leave the room, but a sword suddenly appeared through the door, impaling him. The door then broke off its hinges, as Lindsey walked in. Another Sahrvin lunged at Lindsey, but he slashed with another sword, disembowelling him, as Cordelia walked in, swinging her katana into a Sahrvin, then impaling another

**XXXXXX**

Gunn punched a vampire, then whirled around, drawing an axe and hurling it straight into Senator Brucker's forehead. She collapsed, as Gunn grinned and faced the vampires, as they growled and started to surround him

"Looks like you boys need another candidate. And you wonder why people don't vote?"

Ejecting stakes from his sleeves, Gunn staked a vampire, then got punched, before kicking another vampire and throwing a third over his shoulder. He raised the stake, but a fourth vampire slammed into him, taking him down

**XXXXXX**

"You okay back there, Ashleigh?" Fred asked

"Yeah, I'm good," Ashleigh replied

"Okay, okay, we're doing pretty good," Lorne said, "Where this rain come from?"

"It's coming down pretty heavily," Fred said, "Drive carefully"

"Don't worry, Fredikins, I'm keeping it safe"

Lorne turned the corner and carefully drove down the street, as the rain started to come down heavily. Turning down another street that he knew would take them out of Los Angeles, Lorne picked up the speed a little

"Look out!" Fred cried

A massive troll suddenly appeared out of nowhere, charging into the car and sending it smashing through a nearby building. Lorne struck the steering wheel, drawing blood and getting unconscious, while Fred hit her head against the windscreen, getting dazed, while Ashleigh was the only one unharmed

"Aunty Fred, Uncle Lorne," Ashleigh said, "Wake up! It's coming!"

**XXXXXX**

Angel drove his fist into Hamilton's chest, but he barely flinched

"That hurt?" Angel asked

"Little bit," Hamilton replied

He grabbed Angel by the throat and lifted him up, before throwing him through a pillar. Walking over, Hamilton picked Angel up, then threw him onto the second floor, straight into the Wolfram and Hart logo

"You're gutter trash. And that's where you should have stayed, drinking and whoring your way through an unremarkable life," Hamilton said, walking up the stairs, "But the fates stepped in and made you a vampire instead. With a soul no less"

He picked Angel up and held him by the lapels

"The Senior Partners have wasted a lot of resources and time on you. Personally, I would have told them not to bother. You're a failure, Angel, always will be. I mean, did you really think you could kill Archduke Sebassis?"

"No, I think I always did," Angel smirked, "I poisoned his servant. I figured you were the person I needed to be with"

"Why, so I could kill you?" Hamilton asked

"Actually, I was hoping the fight would be going better than this"

Hamilton threw Angel down to the lobby, before heading down after him. Angel got to his feet and whirled around, deflecting Hamilton's two punches and landed his own, then threw a kick, but Hamilton blocked and punched, as Angel parried and punched him again, but then Hamilton struck him in the jaw

"Why do you bother fighting?" Hamilton asked, "You sighed away your Shanshu. There's nothing in it for you anymore"

"People who don't care about anything will never understand those who do"

Hamilton threw a punch, as Angel blocked, but then he punched Angel again, knocking him to the ground, before walking over

"Yeah, but we won't care"

He grabbed a wooden stake and raised it over Angel's heart, as a fist crashed into his face and sent him flying through a glass wall

"Care about that, dress-for-less?" Connor asked, before helping Angel to his feet

"What are you doing here?" Angel asked

"Took care of my guys and figured you needed some help"

Hamilton got to his feet and stalked out of the office, before swinging his fist. Angel and Connor ducked behind him and whirled around, as Angel threw his fist. Hamilton blocked, as Connor punched him in the face. Hamilton backhanded, but Connor ducked away, as Angel slugged him in the face. Reeling, Hamilton managed to block Connor's fist, then deflected Angel's fist and uppercutted him onto the stairs, before parrying Connor's punch, then grabbed him by his jacket and headbutted him

"What is it with you people?"

He threw Connor into the elevator, denting the doors and knocking Connor unconscious, as Angel leapt to his feet and threw a couple of punches, but Hamilton blocked them and uppercutted him again

"What will it take for you to understand?" Hamilton asked, "I am a part of them. The Wolf, the Ram, the Hart. My blood is filled with their ancient power. Their strength flows through my veins"

"Can you pick out the one word you probably shouldn't have said?" Angel said

He vamped out and lunged at Hamilton, sinking his fangs into the liaison's throat. Hamilton groaned in pain as Angel drank his blood, before grabbing him and throwing him away, but Angel flipped twice in the air, before landing on his feet, back in his human face and wiping the blood from his lips

"Mmm, you really are full of it"

Hamilton threw his fist, but Angel ducked under and whirled around

"What was that you were saying about ancient power?"

Hamilton threw his fist, but Angel blocked and punched him in the face, as Hamilton punched him back, then punched again, but Angel caught his arm with his own and drove his fist into Hamilton's ribs, as Hamilton grabbed him by the throat

"You don't think you can win this, do you? We are legion, we are forever"

Angel broke out of Hamilton's grip and punched him in the ribs, before slugging him in the face, followed by another blow to the jaw, then dropped and swept, taking Hamilton's legs out from underneath him, as Hamilton got to his knees

"Well, it looks like that forever," Angel said, before punching Hamilton twice in the face, "Just got a hell of a lot shorter!"

With one powerful blow, Angel snapped Hamilton's neck, spinning his head around in a full rotation, as Connor groggily got to his feet

"He dead?"

"Yeah, he should be"

At that moment, the Wolfram and Hart building starting shaking, as the pillars started coming down. The roof started caving in, as a pillar crashed through the wall

"What's going on?" Connor asked

"Wolfram and Hart are taking the gloves off. This is it"

Angel headed upstairs, throwing open the office doors, seeing Eve there

"What's going on?" she asked

"Looks like we're getting kicked out of the garden, Eve"

Angel grabbed his broadsword, as Eve grabbed him

"Where's Lindsey? Where is he?"

"He's not coming for you. Let's go"

"Go where?" Eve asked

Angel left the office and rejoined his son in the lobby, before leaving the building

**XXXXXX**


	30. Not Fade Away

**And here it is, the final chapter. Short, but it finishes it off. Also, I've rewritten it to kill Lindsey off**

**XXXXXX**

The Sahrvin laid all around the room in bloody chunks. Cordelia stepped amongst the bodies, careful not to get any blood on her clothing, holding a hand to a slash wound on her stomach, while Lindsey was busy washing his hands of blood, before drying them and tossing the cloth aside

"Tell you what, those chumps were kinda easy," Lindsey smirked

"You mean, chunks, right?" Cordelia asked, "Then again, you do seem like quite the master swordsman"

"Well, you're pretty skilled yourself. Angel sure has trained you well"

"Yeah, well, about Angel," Cordelia said, "There's one last thing he told me to do"

"Oh yeah and what's that?" Lindsey asked

Quick as a flash, Cordelia swung her katana, stabbing Lindsey through the stomach. He gasped in pain and surprise as she pulled the sword away and he fell slump against the wall, blood running from the wound

"What the?" Lindsey cried

"One last job," Cordelia said, "You're not part of the solution"

"You...kill me...no," Lindsey gasped, "Angel...kills me...you"

Cordelia simply watched as Lindsey fell limp against the wall, his life extinguished and she turned and left the room, hurrying to the alley

**XXXXXX**

The rain was pouring down heavily, as Angel and Connor made their way into the alley just north from the Hyperion Hotel. Angel had his broadsword, as they reached the fence, seeing that they were the only ones there

"Boo"

Angel and Connor whirled around, as Spike stepped out of the shadows. Blood was running down the side of his face

"Anyone else?" Angel asked

"None so far. You feel the heat? Looks like we've finally got a decent brawl," Spike grinned

"Yo! How'd I know the fang boys would pull through?"

Gunn arrived in the alley, carrying a bloodied axe, as Angel and Spike helped him sit down on a nearby crate

"You lucky we're on the same side, dogs, cause I was on fire. My game was tight"

"Meant to keep that red stuff on the inside Charlie boy," Spike said

Gunn removed his hand from his stomach, showing the blood on his palm

"Any word on Wes?"

At that moment, Cordelia arrived, carrying a bloodstained sword, while the rain was washing the blood from her injuries. Lindsey wasn't anywhere in sight, which meant Cordelia had killed him as Angel had instructed. Indeed, Cordelia was somewhat avoiding eye contact with Angel, which he figured was understandable, seeing as he had asked her to murder a fellow human being, even if he had been evil in the past

"I've checked in with Wesley," Cordelia said, "He's dead, but he managed to kill Cyvus. I'm sorry"

Everyone bowed their head, the loss of their friend washing through them

"So, when's the big fight starting?" Gunn asked

"Right about now, I believe," Spike said

Roaring and shouting could be heard in the distance. Angel stepped forward, clutching his broadsword, seeing a huge army of demons marching towards them. A giant was amongst them, as a massive dragon flew overhead

"You take the thirty thousand on the left," Gunn said

"I don't think you're gonna make it, Uncle Gunn," Connor said, "You're dying"

"Well, let's make it memorable then, kid"

Gunn groaned and got to his feet with some help from Cordelia, as everyone joined Angel in the middle of the alley, forming a small defensive line, as the army of a thousand demons marched towards the group of seven warriors

"So, in terms of a plan?" Spike asked

"We fight," Angel replied

"Bit more specific?" Cordelia asked

"Well, personally, I kinda want to slay the dragon"

Angel grinned as he watched the army march closer. This was how it should be. The fight to the end. One final blaze of glory. Win or lose, Angel had just picked the biggest fight since mankind dropkicked the last demon out of this dimension

"Let's go to work"

**XXXXXX**

**And that's it, all over. So, I would like to say thanks to everyone who reviewed throughout the entire series. Thank you very much all, it meant so much to me. Until next time...**


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